Mz Hyde
by Silentkiller013
Summary: The secret of my past was shared with only one, and now he's dead. Even dear Brother knows nothing of the sin that flows through my bloodline. I am a monster hidden under a mortal's skin. I never thought I could become more inhuman. Yet that man proved me wrong. God help me I love him. The one who makes me feel human. The woman in the cover image is Nikita. Rated M for a reason.
1. Blood Sweat Dirt Grease and Guns

**Kitten: So... Yeah, I'm having a major case of writer's block on my story _Dahlia_, so until I can figure out how to get to where I want to be with it, I'm going to be working on this fic! As promised in all my other stories, my characters are NOT Mary-Sue! (They have a Mary-Sue litmus test and it. Is. Awesome. I suggest using it if you're going to make up a character for your own story!) Also, I'm using the anime as reference for the most part, so Pip's hair is brown in this fic.**

**Pip: Oi! My hair's blonde! I'm a Frenchman!**

**Kitten: Shush. *stuffs a sock in his mouth***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano!**

_I tried to run quickly, my heart pounding in my throat as I tried to keep up with my parents. My little eight year old legs weren't that accustomed to this type of aerobics yet. Eventually my father took a short few seconds to turn around and pick me up so we could keep moving without me slowing them down. From my position in father's arms, I could see the men chasing us. Two of them. Only two of them. It made sense. I wasn't much of a threat, so they would only need two men to go after us. But I didn't understand the situation._

"_Father," I spoke in my thick accent. "Father, why are we running? My dolly is still at home! And why are those men chasing us?" I asked him as he carried me. I never received an answer, and found it best to just rest my chin on Father's shoulder and watch our pursuers. They were slowly crossing the distance between us, and I knew it was because my father had to stay with Momma. Momma was frail, and could only move so fast, but Father would not leave us behind. He told us that he couldn't bear to lose us. I loved Father dearly..._

_A shot rang out, and the world around me started to fall and spin. I landed on my father's chest as he fell into the snow, a puff of white surrounding us and glistening slightly in the dim light of the day. However, by Father's leg, the snow was turning a light red that was almost pink. I didn't really understand what it was, but I knew it was bad. My momma proved it by shouting out Father's name, and running over to us. With Father on the ground, the men easily caught up to us and they peered down on our small family with cold eyes._

_Momma picked me up and put me behind her, and I stayed there obediently, watching the two men with curious eyes. Father had weakly stood up by now, the adrenaline in his veins the only thing blocking the pain, and he was yelling something I didn't understand at the men who had essentially cornered us. There was no way of escaping out in the open like this, even though we were so close to the Russian border._

_A slew of words were exchanged between the younger of the two men and my father. I didn't understand what they were talking about, but it caused father and the younger man to bring out a sword. I had known it was on his hip, and had found it odd that he would be carrying it, but now I knew why. He was protecting Momma and I from these men. Though they didn't seem scary, these two men. They seemed perfectly normal..._

_My eyes widened and Momma's scream echoed through my ears seconds later as fresh crimson splattered everywhere, staining the snow a pinkish red. My ears rang, my body went numb. I threw my head back, opened my mouth, and -_

"Nikita! Nikita wake up!" I was shaken awake roughly, my scream of terror echoing throughout the tent and into the night. In front of me was my brother. Being the sweet man he was, he came rushing to save me from my nightmare when he heard me screaming. This wasn't the first time a situation like this has happened, so he wasn't surprised. Only concerned. "What was it about? Can you remember it this time," he asked me curiously, and like every other time before this, I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, dear brother, but I do not recall." I lied easily, knowing that I would give nothing away to show that I was doing such a thing. But these dreams... Brother could not know. It would ruin us. It's bad enough that the male in his mid 30s had to constantly keep an eye on me – a female of 30 years who shouldn't be screaming about nightmares. I felt like such a bother to him sometimes. We were Wild Geese... We were in the middle of a battlefield right now, both sides having gone to rest after the damages done. This was no time for me to be screaming. After all, the other men were trying to rest as well.

"Sister, please do not be afraid," He soothed me, stroking the tears off of my face. "These dreams keep reappearing, and it's hard to believe that something that frightens you so much does not stay in your memory." I already knew that, but the problem was that I could _never_ tell Brother about that dream. From the still pale color of my skin, he must have known that I was not yet ready to fall back asleep so easily. With a sigh, he woke up one of his best men and sent him out to keep watch. "I will stay with you tonight, so please, sleep well, Nikita."

"Brother..." I reached out for him like a child, and he pulled me into an embrace before laying down beside me and curling his arms around me. I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent before sighing contently. He smelled like he always did. There was a musky scent that was his own personal odor, and on top of that he smelled like dirt, blood, sweat, and cigarette smoke. Most would find that a revolting smell, but I found comfort in it, knowing that this was who my brother was. Sure I had never liked the smell of cigarettes, but it separated him from my comrades, who, surprisingly, didn't smoke. This scent was all my brother's, and it calmed me. In a few moments I was drifting off to sleep again.

I woke up to the sound of war drums. As the ground shook beneath me, I did my best to stand and face our enemy. The screams of men filled my ears, and I gritted my teeth, holding back a snarl. It wasn't just the enemy's men that were falling. Several Geese who had made it back to the camp after being severely injured were resting all around me. Why hadn't Brother woken me up? I was the lieutenant, so I should have been woken up as soon as the battle started. I glanced around the wounded bodies, trying to keep my emotions in check. When I couldn't find my brother I dashed out of the tent, picking up my rifle on the way, and patting the pockets of my outfit to make sure I had my knives and magazines. The world was on fire around me, explosions shaking the ground as I ran, and bullets flying past me. I was amazed that I wasn't hit yet, but a moving target was always harder to hit.

I don't remember how long I ran, but it must have been for only 15 minutes. I spotted my brother behind some rubble with two other men, shooting around the edge of the crumbled wall every once in a while. A bullet whizzed past his ear, taking some hair off from under his hat, and causing him to press his back to the wall once more. I analyzed the position Brother and the other Geese were in and noticed a small part of the wall was still intact right beneath the gaping hole that separated me from my dearest sibling. Picking up my speed, I sprinted full out, my boots pounding against the ground. Brother spotted me and shouted my name, telling me to stop, or I would be hit by the spray of bullets. But I didn't care. As soon as I got close to the hole in the wall, I pushed backwards, easily sliding under the hole in the wall, protected by the bit that was still intact. After I came to a stop, I sat up next to my brother, pressing my back to the wall just as he did.

"What the Hell did you think you were doing," he shouted over the sounds of gunfire and canons.

"I don't know. Why the Hell didn't you wake me up when the battle started?" He only smiled at me and in that small instance I knew. He may have had less sleep than I, but he didn't want to disturb me from a dreamless sleep. It was rare that I had a night where that dream didn't wake me up, and he must not have wanted to disturb that. I started to wonder how long I had slept through this war. How long had these men been fighting? Surely I would have woken up at the first gun shot? Yet I don't remember what had awoken me. Was it not the constant thrum of machine gun fire? Was it the canons? Or maybe it was the man that stumbled into the tent, injured and on the brink of death. My mind swirled at the thought of his blood gushing from those wounds. It was so-

No. I could not think of that for my comrade. If I wanted to see blood so much, I would have to shed it from my enemies. My fellow Geese were putting their lives on the line for a little bit of pay. It was my job to help protect them. So it was with a yell of determination that I leaned over the wall, barely avoiding a bullet, and let all Hell break lose from the barrel of my rifle to the bodies of my enemies, relishing in their cries of agony and the sight of blood. After that short moment of fire, I ducked back behind the wall, flashing a grin to my brother. He just smiled lazily back, rolling his eyes when I gave him a thumbs up.

_**Five Days Later:**_

I still remember yesterday quite clearly. The ecstatic cheers the Geese made when they found our enemies retreating into their homeland. Our group had pulled through with only a few of our men dying in combat, but not mourned for because we knew they would want us to be happy. We all were a bit roughed up and bloody, but alive and healing those wounds that would turn into scars. A few bruises remained on my torso from the impact of smaller rock fragments slamming into me when a canon blasted apart a nearby wall. I was a bit stiff, but doing well. Today was the day we would go to collect our pay and then celebrate. We were given the luxury of staying in our employers estate for the time being, and I was able to have my own shower, which I took full advantage of.

In our field of work, we never really had the equipment or the time for even a cold shower. We often had to bathe in lakes or rivers near where we would set up our camp. I was used to it by now, but that didn't mean having the time for a hot bath wasn't amazing. I felt revitalized as I washed my hair from the blood, sweat, dirt, gun powder, and grease of war. My wounds were tended to and bandaged so they wouldn't get infected, and I would get a good night's rest for once. At least I hoped. But no matter what, tomorrow I would get the hard earned cash I deserved for the dirty work of battle, and the Wild Geese would go out to the bar for a little while to celebrate. At least, that's what I thought would happen yesterday.

So how is it, that as soon as we were clean, well rested (most of us anyway – I had a tough time sleeping again), and out the door of the estate with our hard earned money, there was a butler in front of us, asking patiently for our services? I looked over the old man wearily. Well, he didn't look _that_ old. He seemed to maybe be in is late 60s. In a way he seemed to be sturdy and strong yet, like he was just fresh from the war. Maybe he wasn't fresh from the war, but the war with the Nazis ended around 50 years ago. Maybe he was a teenager in the war? He still seemed hard with the pressures of battle. But at the same time, his elderly looks betrayed him. His eyes held a certain iciness to them, but above that there was a warmth that came with age. For some reason, I wanted to trust him implicitly, but at the same time I felt as if I couldn't possibly do that. As kind as he looked for a butler, he seemed dark, as if he had the hatred of the world on his shoulders. It made me curious like always, but also uneasy.

"So, who are you again," Brother asked and I brushed my arm against his. He put his hand at the small of my back, an old habit he had when he would try to relax me. It didn't help this time. The darkness that seemed to surround this man had me on edge, especially the way he bowed to us. It was just as formal as what it would have been in the 1800s.

"My name is Walter C. Dornez. I am the current butler for the Hellsing Organization. We are inquiring for your services as Wild Geese." His voice was kind and warm, which set off his dark demeanor. It still had my mind reeling, yet Brother didn't seem concerned with that at all. He stepped forward slowly, easily taller than the old man, but the elder didn't seem to be intimidated at all. On the contrary, he smiled pleasantly at my sibling. "I understand that you are strong soldiers that work for little pay, but I can guarantee you, if you survive, your payment will be a hefty sum."

"What do you mean 'if we survive'?" I took a step forward, raising my voice a little to get the elder's attention. He smiled at me with a look that said, "we can discuss that after payment". I growled lowly, and moved to stand next to my brother, not as tall as the butler, but still menacing all the same. Just as it went with Brother, the old man did not even flinch. "Okay, so if you won't tell me that, can we at least know the sum you'll be paying us, and what we're going up against?"

"Lieutenant, please stand down." Brother placed an arm in front of me, pushing me back a little. I opened my mouth to protest, but he interrupted swiftly. "We will go up against anything you ask. It's what we do, even if we get a bare minimum pay," he told the old butler, and I scowled, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "My only question at the moment," my brother spoke. "Is how are we going to get to where we're going?" The butler's smile widened, and I moved slightly behind my sibling. I didn't like that smile. It seemed like a victory smile more than a polite one. It sent shivers down my spine.

The elder man bowed again, and with a snap of his fingers, two trucks with open backs drove into sight. Brother waved his hand forward and we all shuffled into the back of these trucks, my sibling slipping in beside me. I glared at him and looked away. His arm slipped over my shoulders and I tried to shrug him off before he could make contact with me. But even though I was just as skilled as him, if not more so, in hand to hand combat, he still was faster than me. His arm didn't budge and I glared again. A smile adorned his face and I resisted the urge to make his nose bleed.

"You always consult me before taking a job. You didn't this time. Why?" My voice was harsh and criticizing. His smile vanished and for once in his life he look completely serious.

"Nikita, I know you noticed how dark that old butler seemed. I could see it in your eyes. He made you uneasy. As dense as you think I am, I noticed it too, and I felt that we didn't have a choice but to take his offer. There's something different about that butler, and for obvious reasons I don't want to mess with him. The offer can't be that bad. They'll be paying us a lot, and we always go into dangerous situations. It's nothing we can't handle." My brother was very matter-of-fact with his explanation and I found that in a way, he was right. I couldn't argue with his logic. There was nothing we couldn't handle. We had fought many battles that were called suicide missions and still survived. This job couldn't have been any worse, right?

But that old butler's stare had me thinking differently. It was like seeing a ghost that you had never believed existed before. Yet right there it was, looking you right in the eyes and leaving you speechless. I leaned into Brother's chest and closed my eyes. All of a sudden I was very tired. I remembered that I hadn't slept well again, even though I woke up feeling refreshed. I was soon asleep in my brother's arms, not dreaming, and letting the wind blow my hair around.

"Hello? Are you awake miss? Hellooooooo." A light feminine voice brought me out of my sleep, along with something that was poking me. It felt like a finger. I rolled over, only to meet a wooden floor. A loud rumbling laugh made me grumble as I recognized it as my brother's. Though under that laugh was a small squeal and the words, "are you alright". I sat up onto my knees, holding my head, as it had hit kind of hard. We were still in the back of the truck, and Brother was still laughing at me. I stood up and knocked him on the head, pushing his hat over his eyes with the motion. He tugged on it so he could see again, but I pulled it right back down, forcing him to watch the inside of his favorite hat for a while. A small pout formed on his mouth but I ignored him and turned to see who had been poking me. It certainly hadn't been brother – he knew never to poke my sides. The only other person left was the owner of that feminine voice.

When I finally found the source of that voice, I wasn't surprised to find an astoundingly young woman staring up at me with wide blue eyes. Her blonde hair was short and flipped outwards at the ends, her bangs framing her face nicely. I wish I looked that young still. I admit, I only looked a little shy of 30 myself, but she didn't even look to be in her mid 20s while the size of her chest seemed to say other-wise. There was no way a teenager could have that large of a cup size. I looked down at my own chest, which was only a slight bit larger than average. Her's were bigger than mine even, and it made me blush. Then, to add insult to injury, her body was just as curvy with a tan uniform that said "Hellsing" on the sleeve. I had curves too, just not as prominent as hers. This woman looked like a sex god with an innocent face and a guy's hairdo. My blush got deeper and her eyes widened a bit further.

"Eh... I- I'm sorry for startling you..." The apology was wobbly and embarrassed. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ground with a blush, probably understanding full well why I myself was blushing. "Oh, but where are my manners?" The girl stuck her hand out and I took it hesitantly. "My name is Seras Victoria. What is yours?"

"Nikita... Nikita Bernadotte." I replied quietly, giving her hand a firm shake. Most men told me I had a strong grip, but hers was even stronger than mine, and it was a bit scary. Younger than me _and_ stronger than me? I pointed over to Brother. "And this is my sibling, Pip Bernadotte." My brother saluted her with two fingers and I rolled my eyes. Seras bowed her head with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, moving back from the end of the truck so Brother and I could jump down. "But if you don't mind me asking, where are you from? You have an accent I have not heard before." I was startled at this next line. Did she not know a Russian accent? She worked for a place that supposedly traveled all over the place, and she didn't know a Russian accent? I hid my surprise with a curt smile and answered her.

"Well, I'm Russian and English by descent. My father was English and my mother was Russian."

"Ah! So Pip has the same accent?" The next question was something that I would have expected. Brother's hair was the same redish brown as mine, and we both had green eyes. We looked to be around the same age because we were, and most everyone told us we looked like twins. Still, her assumption was wrong, and Pip proved it when he spoke for me.

"Sorry, Missy, this girl may be my little sister but not by blood. I'm a Frenchman. With a little bit of Swedish." His sentences were matter-of-fact, yet they put the most curious sparkle in the younger woman's eyes. I couldn't help but assume that she was sheltered most of her life until she joined the Hellsing Organization, and that she must have been hired recently. I looked up, noticing that it had taken us all day to get here. Had I really slept that long? Well, when I look back on when I woke up, it had been around 1:30 in the afternoon, and it had taken me a while to get ready to leave. That's what you get after ten days of war. Late nights, early mornings, and when it's all over, early nights, late mornings.

"You'll have to tell me all about Russia then, Nikita! I've never been there before, and since I've been traveling lately, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about different countries." Seras seemed to be delighted that I was there, and when I got into the building, I could understand why. I didn't see another female being in sight. Not even a maid was bustling around here. Was the butler from earlier the only one that actually worked here? I didn't like that thought.

"Seras, how old are you?" I knew the question was a bit rude when I had just met her, but I needed to know. If we were the only two women here, then why not get to know the only other woman? Thankfully, the younger woman didn't take offense and smiled.

"I'm 19 this year. What about you?" The girl sounded innocent, and I knew she probably was, but I couldn't help but turn red. What kind of teenager gets a body like that? I had to work just to keep myself in shape. If I didn't, I would definitely be over-weight by now, and you could see that in my figure. I was almost all muscle by now. If I found any fat on my body it was from what little curves I had. My stomach had visible muscle and my legs were thick. It wasn't obscene like a body-builders, but it definitely wasn't model material. At least, I didn't think so.

"I just turned 30 actually..." I finally replied to her question with a shaky voice, and the teen looked at me with yet another surprised expression.

"But, Miss, if you don't mind me saying, you don't look a day over 20 years! Are you a vampire?" I really had to work to not give her a look that asked if she was stupid or not. I just smiled politely and answered a curt "no" before falling back to follow her wherever she was taking us. She explained that the other men had been shown to another room to wait for us a while, and that we were going to talk to the Master of the house. I was starting to wonder if everyone here was strange in some way. First a creepy butler, then an innocent teen with the body of a goddess who asks if someone's a vampire, and now the _Master_ of the house? What? Did this house still follow the rules of 19th Century England? I didn't want to find out. Soon, we'd be fighting with swords instead of guns!

"Ah! Miss Victoria! There you are!" The old butler, Walter, was headed towards us, a towel draped over his arm, a warm smile on his face. I pulled back to walk behind Brother, brushing against his arm with my own. He couldn't look back at me with his recently injured eye that was now under a proper eye-patch, but I knew that's what he'd be doing if he could. Seras smiled and waved happily at the elder man, and almost skipped up to him like an obedient puppy. "Sir Hellsing has asked for you to go keep watch over the new-comers now. I will lead these two the rest of the way to the office."

"Right-o, Sir." The teen turned to us and actually gave me a hug. "It was nice meeting the both of you! I hope to see you around!" With that, she bounded off in another direction, and was gone. I really wish she would have stayed with us the rest of the way. I didn't like this old Butler... This man named Walter. Brother knew it too, and he kept us at a good distance from the elder until we reached the designated doors that would lead us to "Sir Hellsing". The elegant wood startled me a little. Just how rich was this man? I was about to find out how wrong I was about one tiny assumption of mine.

**Kitten: So that's that... Is it okay? Don't forget to review! I don't get many and I'm pretty much using review counts to continue the story. Five reviews on each chapter and I'll continue to write the story. May take me a while to get more chapters out, even on my Mori/OC story for the sheer fact that I have 2 dogs, 1 cat, 7 fish, a job, a sports team, and my boyfriend (who will be moving in with me soon) to keep up with. Lots of stuff happening, so that means less time for writing. So remember to review! If you don't like the story it's fine, but don't send flames. Constructive criticism is acceptable, but if you send flames I will ignore you. If you don't like my story, don't read it. Simple as that.**

**Pip: Hey, aren't you a bit crude? That was a bit mean, Missy.**

**Kitten: If I don't get my point across no one will take it seriously... *shrugs***

**Pip: Hey, why do you call yourself Kitten when your username states otherwise? Silent killers generally aren't kittens...**

**Kitten: Shut it *shoves dirty underwear in his mouth***

**Pip: *muffled sounds of disgust***

**Kitten: Review! Thanks!**


	2. Who is the REAL Monster?

**Kitten: Woohoo! Seven reviews on the last chapter and even more in favorites! Thanks so much to Anonym Stuff, Poisedrose, Imogene19, KaiaUchiha, Yuna973, and Jo for reviewing! Thanks to them I can now write the second chapter!**

**Pip: Oi... If you were so excited to write the next chapter, why didn't you just write it?**

**Kitten: Well, I don't want to write a story that hardly anyone will read. It stinks for the people that are faithful followers for the story, but I am a busy woman. I barely have time to finish up _Durarara!_ right now, and it's driving me nuts! Then with a trip for a competition coming up soon, and my boyfriend moving in with me in two months... I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend on writing! So why not start off the review rule early? I'm certain more people will review if I enforce it :)**

**Pip: That's kinda harsh. I hope your readers understand.**

**Kitten: Yeah, me too. Especially when I have to finish up a MorixOC story, which I'm about to enforce the review rule on, and I have this amazing Shizuo Heiwajima idea that I've been thinking about and not sure if I should start (let me know your ideas on that readers if you know Shizu-chan!). Busy, busy, busy! But I'm so excited I could continue this story!**

**Seras: Woah! So many reviews in such short notice! Oh! Am I going to be in the next chapter?**

**Kitten: Of course! You get to prove Pip wrong today!**

**Pip: What?**

**Seras: Oh good! And what about Master?**

**Kitten: He'll be in too!**

**Integra: Aren't you getting a little too carried away? Just start the story already!**

**Kitten: Ah! Right! Enough of my prattling!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano!**

_Recap: "Right-o, Sir." The teen turned to us and actually gave me a hug. "It was nice meeting the both of you! I hope to see you around!" With that, she bounded off in another direction, and was gone. I really wish she would have stayed with us the rest of the way. I didn't like this old Butler... This man named Walter. Brother knew it too, and he kept us at a good distance from the elder until we reached the designated doors that would lead us to "Sir Hellsing". The elegant wood startled me a little. Just how rich was this man? I was about to find out how wrong I was about one tiny assumption of mine._

Walter shut those elegant doors behind us, and even when the person at the desk within the room gestured for us to sit down, I could only stand there. Brother had gone on ahead of me, bowing and introducing himself, and as he wasn't paying attention to me, didn't notice how tense I had gotten. I wasn't scared. No, not at all. Nor was I nervous. I was just astounded and slightly intimidated. Completely astounded and intimidated, to the point where I wasn't sure if I could move. My assumption of Sir Hellsing being rich was certainly right, but about the "master" of this home being male... Well, it's easy now to see that I was completely wrong. There was a woman in the chair behind the desk, dressed in a suit with a cigar (ironically) draped out of her mouth. She looked young too, with long blonde hair that almost looked grey. Blue eyes glanced up at me before going back down to her paperwork, and in those eyes I saw a certain coldness, like the butler's eyes had. She had the wisdom of many years, in those eyes, yet she seemed younger than me. Was Walter the only person living here currently that was older than me? I was starting to think so.

"What's the matter girl," the woman at the desk asked me in an amazingly masculine voice that was at the same time feminine. Assuming it was because she was all business and she carried that kind of tone, I dismissed it as normal. I slowly took the few steps to sit beside my brother, and crossed my legs to hide the fact that I was as stiff as a board. If she wasn't an intimidating force before she looked up at me, now that I have seen her eyes, I find myself even more cautious around her. How long had she been running this household to obtain those kind of eyes? The look that seems to go for miles, never stopping to glance at anyone that passed by her, or even to notice the people in her way. I wondered what color her blood would shine. Surely a bright crimson... _No. Stop that. She is your employer, not the victim of the undoubtedly dangerous mission she'll be giving you._ My brother nudged my side and I realized that the woman has asked me another question. "I am Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. Do not be afraid of me girl, I am not one who would try to kill you. Or are you just that easily intimidated?" I straightened my back, my lips pursing into a thin line.

"No, Sir. I am just a little surprised that someone as young as yourself is the master of this household." I replied smoothly in my thick accent, and she raised her eyebrows.

"As young as me? Young woman, I am 22 years old. Surely I am not that young in comparison to you. Though I thought I would have been one of the only women to be brought into a war at such a young age..." Sir Hellsing said, and the fact that she was a woman, running a very rich company, and also much younger than me still had me baffled. On top of that, she made it sound like she had been the head of the household for years. I gave the woman a small smile that was very much forced and I was about to reply when she spoke again. "Your accent is Russian. You look just like your captain. Walter informs me that you are brother and sister, yet I can tell your brother is French by his accent. Just who are you?" I wasn't surprised by this question. Brother and I got that question a lot. It was the way she said it that made me furrow my eyebrows. I couldn't tell if she just normally spoke in an uncaring voice, or if she was just rude. And at the same time, I couldn't help but respect this intimidating woman. Anyone who so much as glanced at her could tell that not only was she smart, and powerfully rich, but she was also a physical force to be messed with. I could see it in the way she sat. Most women would not sit like a man, even on business because it was uncomfortable, but she clearly held that stature, and that took a lot of muscle to do. She was strong, and most likely could take me on in combat.

"I beg your pardon, Sir Hellsing. However, I am 30 years of age, so you are young to me." I stated my second sentence matter-of-factly, which caused the woman behind the desk to raise her eyebrows once more. "My name is Nikita Bernadotte. Yes, I am Russian. My mother being Russian and my father being English. I consider Pip my brother because I was raised with him in France as an adopted child. I'm sure you know his family's history by now. You do not seem the type to look for a client without first doing your research. However, it surprises me that you do not know of my past. Surely you have done your research on that?" A small look of confusion flitted over the younger woman's face and I ignored the nudge in my side from Pip that clearly stated that I was being rude.

"There are no records of your existence, Miss Bernadotte. Not even from when you were living with Mr. Bernadotte. If I would have known about your existence, I certainly would have looked into your profile." Integra almost seemed annoyed as she stated this, Brother's eyes had flickered over to me and tried to lock with mine, and I just stared at the woman blankly. I kind of expected that there wouldn't be any records on file of me. After all that my father had done... No, this started way back to even my grandfather... I was snapped out of my thoughts when the woman said something that gave me a sense of deja vu. "Yet, you seem too young to be 30 years old... Are you a nosferatu? It seems the only logical reason that you look younger than me, and can still go outside during the daylight. And if you were, it would make your job much easier to understand."

"Excuse me?" I wondered out loud, and Sir Hellsing sighed. "I am sorry, Sir, it's just that one of your employees, Seras Victoria, asked me the same thing earlier. I was unsure of why she had asked me that, but now I am certain that most everyone here is crazy. Forgive me for being so rude, but ever since you sent that butler to escort us here, I have felt a dark presence around almost everyone."

"You have the right to believe that, and I commend you on being able to recognize it," Sir Hellsing stated, folding her fingers and resting her elbows on her desk. I gave her a curious look, and I felt Brother leaning in closer beside me. There was a tense silence before the master of the house continued. "Have either of you read Bram Stoker's – Dracula?" The question seemed random, but at the same time, seemed to be perfectly normal for the situation. After all, she had just indicated earlier that being a nosferatu would help with the case. I nodded, always being one for the super-natural books. After all, grandfather was – no. I shouldn't get lost in thought now. I could miss something. A small smile appeared on Sir Hellsing's face and my heart dropped to my stomach. "This is a good thing, because you will need those wooden stakes, crosses, and garlic." That statement also gave me a sense of deja vu. I just knew this was seeming more and more like the 19th century. "I have asked you here to work for me full time and guard this estate from vampires." I heard Pip laugh, but I just stared blankly onward at the window behind Integra's head. I don't remember much of what happened after that. It was like my mind had left me.

Most people would say that I was crazy for believing every word that Sir Hellsing had just said, but when you had a past like mine, it was natural. The only person that would ever know my past in the present time would be me, so I never expected anyone to really understand. Yet here was Integra, who would sound bat-shit crazy to someone, but was making perfect sense to me. I believed in monsters, because _I_ was the monster. No, my _blood_ was what made me a monster. A human, yet a monster, and before that I thought you couldn't get any worse than that. _I am a monster hidden under a mortal skin. I never thought I could become more inhuman._ So for a vampire to be real, it didn't strike me as odd at all. It seemed more like relief than a surprise really. Relief that I wasn't the worst kind of monster out there. I was human, and vampires were the undead... Ones who were no longer human. That was the only difference between us, yet it seemed like it made _everything_ different. Yes, it most certainly was a relief.

I had let Pip take over, and I was glad I did. If it were up to me to make the decision, I would have told Integra no. Vampires... I knew that I didn't like them. All they wanted was blood, and though I wasn't any better, I didn't just go and kill random people without reason. I was getting paid. But when I thought about it that way, weren't vampires drinking blood to stay, well, undead? Still, I don't know why anyone in their right mind would choose a life like that. I would rather starve really. I didn't want to go up against something that was going to kill me just so they could enjoy being undead and essentially immortal. Yet because the pay was good and my brother found her statement as a joke, Pip had decided to take the job. He wasn't being serious, and it irked me. Didn't he understand that vampires really could exist in this life, as long as I'm the living proof of mosters? For the first time in my many years of being a mercenary, I was actually afraid to go into battle. Had vampires been the reason the only people I saw around here were Seras, Walter, and Integra? It just had to be...

"You may take your leave, Mr. Bernadotte... However, I have a few questions to ask Ms. Bernadotte." Integra's words pulled me out of my thoughts and I stared at her a little surprised. Brother patted my shoulder, something he always did when he was telling me to be safe, and then left to go to our troops and relay the information to them he just received. I had never realized that I had become slouched over a little in my chair and I straightened my back again. Sir Hellsing's eyes never left mine and I found that even after looking into them a second time, she was still just as intimidating as she was the first time. An awkward silence ensued before I cleared my throat. The woman in front of me seemed to widen her eyes a little farther, and it occurred to me that she must have been lost in thought. "Ms. Bernadotte-"

"Please... Sir Hellsing, call me Nikita. I require no title to my name, and Bernadotte is not my birth name. I took it from Pip because I was raised by his grandfather," I stated, and her eyebrows raised before she continued.

"Nikita... I wish to inquire about your past. What you stated before was true. I do not go without doing research on my clients, and I will not make exceptions." Her voice was still all business, but it seemed to have gone a little softer now that Pip was gone. Truly she was a very proud woman. I don't even think she'd flinch standing next to a monster. If anything, she seemed more likely to cut its head off. A grim smile crossed my features as I wondered if she would do the same to me when she found out who I really was.

"Are you certain you wish to be asking me this? Surely you have a sense of why there are no records on me... Some things are better left unknown, Sir Hellsing, especially when I know some of your family history. Not all, because I only heard of it from my father, and he didn't know much. All he knew was the name, and what the founder of this company had done. If anything, I should have reason to kill you right here and right now, if I weren't the same as my grandfather and father. Pip laughed at your statement about vampires. I chose to believe you, because I know that monsters do exist. The blood of a monster runs through my veins at this very moment, yet I am human." Integra's eyes widened substantially and recognition flashes in those blue orbs. My grim smile turned into a smirk. "You know don't you? My family's blood line?" Those ice cold, and calculating eyes narrowed and the woman across from me snubbed out her cigarette. She most certainly knew. "Then what more do you need to ask me?"

The head of the house said nothing as I stood and walked out of the room. My smirk was gone. I knew I had been rude, and maybe even a little insane back there, but if I was intimidated by something, I was like a dog backed into a corner. I never cowered. I bared my teeth and fought back, even if the hand reaching towards me was the hand that fed me. I didn't know how I found my way around the place to the room I needed to go. Maybe it was the light smell of smoke that my brother left through the halls. Ever since I was born, my senses were extremely sensitive. They were heightened, and I only guess it was because of my bloodline. After all, what kind of monster doesn't have heightened senses? It was quite easy to follow the scent of my brother through the halls, and soon I found myself in the room where my kin were staying until Sir Integra addressed them all at once. Brother was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, and as I glanced around, I noticed Seras leaning against one of the walls. She seemed to go unnoticed by everyone else, but when I caught her eyes, she gave a small wave. I smiled at her, not finding her so weird now, and started to wonder if she were one of the undead. But weren't we supposed to be fighting the nosferatu? It wouldn't make sense for her to be one. I'm glad I didn't jokingly say that I was when she first asked me if I was a vampire. She might have killed me... Then again, she seems so innocent. Was she really a vampire slayer? Nothing was making sense anymore...

I took a seat on one of the rectangular boxes that held our supplies and that's when the chatter picked up in the room. The first question out of anyone's mouth was "what are we going to do?" It didn't surprise me at all, and the way Brother responded to that question was just a normal as it always is. He turned around slightly in his chair and smiled at us.

"Don't be surprised when I tell you this: this time, our job is... Killin' monsters!" I rolled my eyes while everyone else just laughed. I looked over at Seras and she was smiling solemnly. I heard someone say to quit shitting us, and I had the urge to whack him over the head. These men, while they were my comrades, were obnoxious and a little annoying sometimes. It was embarrassing. I gave a small shrug at Seras and her smile brightened a little. She must have sensed that I believed what my brother said was true. She truly was a nice young girl. I still felt old around her, but she was what I wish I could have been when I was younger.

"It's true." A familiar voice rang out over all the mens' laughter and Sir Hellsing herself waltzed through the doors, a superior smile on her face. The men got quiet and I held back a smirk at the surprise on their faces. "Your enemies are to be ghouls and vampires which neither die nor age. Holy water is splashed on the demon; a crucifix is stabbed through it's heart; its head is sliced off. The impure soul shall turn to ashes around the figure of the cross... _This is what we do._For more information refer to vampire literature."

"Are you kidding us?" One of the soldiers in our group was almost yelling at Integra, yet she was not shaken. She merely stood there with a knowing smile on her features. "There are no such things as vampires..."

"To be more accurate, _you don't know the truth_..." The woman had interrupted him, and this just gave me more respect for her. A woman usually did not have this much power in England unless she were the Queen. Yet Sir Hellsing was able to take charge of this situation without much of a problem at all. "We have never let anyone know the truth. The Hellsing Organization was established a century ago. If we were to have never been created, _they_ should surely have realized their goal... Of subverting mankind into a race of demonic vermin." I looked down at my feet. Without the creation of Hellsing, would my grandfather still be alive? Would father still be alive? Would I even exist? Had he not fled to Russia because of Scotland Yard being after him... "You fellows probably didn't understand a word I just said. See for yourselves; this is our enemy, the vampire." My eyes widened in surprise when Integra's hand snapped over to Seras. So she was... A vampire? But if she is our enemy, why did I not feel true darkness from her even though I felt it from the other two that lived here? How long had she been 19 years old? Why was an organization that was meant for slaying vampires _keeping_ a vampire? I was confused.

"Wh-what?" Brother seemed just as confused as me as he approached Seras. "Are you... A vampire?" I wanted to slap my forehead, considering Integra had clearly just stated that she was. Seras wearily flashed the tip of one of her fangs.

"Uh... I guess so..." What did she mean by "guess so"? Was she uncertain? I mean, the fact that she had fangs and was significantly stronger than me (I suddenly remembered the way she had shook my hand), how could she not know if she were undead or not? I heard a lot of muffled laughter and looked around me. The men didn't believe her. Like me, they found her too innocent and young looking to be a vampire. I guess that's normal. Everyone expects monsters to be terrifying, but again, I was living proof of how wrong that notion can be. Seras was also proof. We looked young, we looked like we wouldn't harm a fly normally (if it weren't for my military attire though), and yet we were monsters. "See, I told you they'd make fun of me..." Seras said approaching Integra, and the older female looked like she wanted to sigh.

"I suppose you're right."

"Wouldn't it have been easier if we just called my master?"

"No, he'll probably kill all of them! Alright, show them what you've got, Officer! Give them a wake-up call."

"Go-got it!" Seras said saluting the master of the house, and watched as she slowly approached Brother. "I'm coming." She stated this to his face before he started laughing uncontrollably. I sighed and rested my chin in my hand. Oh boy was he in for it. I could tell.

"Hey Hey! If that girl's a vampire then _I'm _Frankenstein!" He continued laughing and I had a serious notion to hit him. He shouldn't joke about being a monster...

"Like this?" Seras flicked him while she spoke, and Brother went flying back. That's when _I_ laughed. "Down already, Cap'n? I just lifted a finger."

"What... What the..." I was finding this more and more comical as it went. Brother seemed to be astonished by the fact that he had only gotten flicked and was sent backwards, almost off his feet.

"How about this?" Seras flicked him again, and this time he really did fly off his feet. The other men had to catch him and I doubled over with laughter. Sure, I hated to see my brother hurt, but he got what was coming.

"She's a _freak_... I can't... I can't see! And she just flicked her finger and pushed me down!" I whacked Pip over the head. He stared up at me astonished. There was a hard look on my face.

"She warned you. You got what you had coming." That was all I said before turning around to stare at Seras. She smiled at me and I returned it gratefully. "Sometimes these men need taught a lesson. Thank you."

"Well I did say already that I was a vampire..."

"You're a real vampire?" Pip still sounded surprised as he asked the question. Didn't he get it yet? Would she lie to him after just beating him up with only her finger? I doubted that.

"Got that right." A very deep masculine voice floated throughout the room, and I couldn't find where it was coming from. Well, that was until I saw a man in a red trench coat and hat with orange tinted glasses _coming through a WALL. _"Though she's the lowest of the vampires, she's still the real deal." I froze as he stepped out from the _wall_ and didn't move. He had to be... He just had to be a vampire too. His head had tilted down so that he was looking over those glasses, and I suddenly wished that he hadn't. Blood crimson eyes that seemed to glow stared at our group of men, and I found myself completely terrified. All of the men behind my brother and I screamed, yet as the Captain and Lieutenant, we stood silently horrified. "What a pitiful bunch of cowards. They seem so useless."

My fists clenched and I growled lowly. "Am I the only one here that finds it weird that we're supposed to be slaying these vampires and there are two here that we haven't?" I didn't know if anyone was about to answer me, but it didn't matter after someone let out a stressed yell.

"ALUCARD!" Walter, the butler came running into the room, looking almost ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sir. I tried to stop him." Integra seemed surprised to see the old man, but everyone's attention was directed back to the male that had walked through a wall of all things.

"They're to be the ones protecting my master. I came to see what sort of people they were." Pip was speechless to the point of sweating, and I was still gritting my teeth. So these two vampires worked for Hellsing? Had they vowed never to take human blood? If so, how did they survive? Blood bags possibly? Either way, I was glad that I didn't have to kill either of them. Seras just seemed way too innocent... Almost human still aside from her fangs and the inhuman strength. I would hate to have to drive a stake through her heart. However, the other vampire... Was he the one named Alucard? I supposed so. For some reason, the name sounded familiar. I would investigate later, but for some reason, it felt like killing this vampire would take more than a crucifix and a stake to the heart. "Though this woman is quite intriguing... Your blood smells strange. Almost as if it's not human. Are you a monster too?" The vampire's question startled me before it sunk in. He had a large smirk on his face. I glared at him. I was back to that defensive quality I had. The dog backed into the corner. I still wouldn't cower. It would take much more than just his presence to make me cower, though I have to admit he was close. If he got any closer to me, or stared at me anymore with those glowing orbs, my defenses would break.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." I snarled, and he laughed. What was this feeling? My stomach was flip-flopping around in my torso. My heart-rate was picking up exponentially. My breathing became shallow, and my pupils shrank though my eyes didn't widen. I was scared... Utterly terrified of this man in front of me. I felt vulnerable, and small. For once in my life – I realized – I felt completely human. It didn't matter what my bloodline was compared to this man in front of me, because he was the _true_ monster. The monster that could get into your house no matter how you boarded up your windows or locked your doors. And I was in love with the feeling. The feeling of being human for once. Of being powerless compared to somebody else, and knowing that my bloodline meant nothing to this being because he was more powerful that me. Even if I was terrified of this vampire, I was admiring the other feeling his presence left. I almost wanted to thank him for that.

"No, you may smell different but you are most certainly human. However, you are one who has always considered herself a monster until now." Alucard had reduced his laugh to a mere chuckle, and I stood baffled. Could he read my mind? His smirk turned into a grin, and finally my eyes widened. He _could_ read my mind. There wasn't any place safe from this man was there? No matter what anyone would do, there was no place to go. There was no escape. The vampire laughed again and I flinched, gritting my teeth and taking a step back. A look of pure terror must have been on my face because the nosferatu dropped his grin into a softer gaze that almost looked confused. "What's wrong woman? What happened to the dog backed into a corner that would fight to stay alive? What happened to the gratefulness you were just admitting to for making you seem more human?! Do not turn into a cowering dog that welcomes death! Fight!" I let loose a wild scream.

I don't really remember what happened next. All I know is that when it was over, the sound of a gun shot was ringing in my ears, the Smith & Wesson 500 revolver was in my hand, and there was a hole in the head of the vampire in front of me. Pip stared at me as I lowered and holstered the weapon, and everyone else stared shocked at the corpse in front of the room. Well, everyone aside from Walter, Seras, and Integra. I never had the time to notice it though, because that same masculine voice was now reverberating around the room for the second time that day. I looked back at the corpse, and it twitched. Everyone stared, so silent one could hear a feather hit the ground. I don't think anyone was breathing, and I found that I myself was only taking shallow, struggling breaths. There was blood everywhere. It was crimson to everyone in the room but me. I saw black. The true color of his blood. It was black. You couldn't get any darker. It was like staring into a pit. I craved it; wanted to touch it; wanted to know it was real.

"You shot me. At first I thought out of fear, but then I realized that you did it because you had the killing intent coursing through your veins. And now you stare at my blood like it is Holy Water to a Christian." Alucard's head reformed slowly in front of our eyes. "It will take more than that to kill me woman. Though I must say, you remind me of someone. Are you sure you're human?" My eyes widened at his words and I reached for my gun again.

"SHUT UP!" If it wouldn't have been for Brother stepping in front of me, I would have shot him again.

"I have lived with her for as long as I can remember. Of course she's human. _Never_ call her a monster again." My brother's voice sounded strong, and his glare was steady, but I could see the sweat dripping down his face, and the slight tremble in his legs. Alucard tilted his head back and was about to retort, his mouth open and ready, a row of shark teeth glistening, but he was interrupted by Walter. The old butler cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. Even Alucard had stopped for this man, who was only human, and surely was not as strong. Was he truly a tamed vampire? For some reason, I had my doubts.

"Oh yes, Sir, I have something to tell you." Integra turned to look at her servant with an all business tone of voice that steadily asked "what". "We received this... Please look at the sending address." A look of surprise suddenly flashed across Sir Hellsing's features, and my eyes widened. Even when talking to me about my past, she had never seemed that surprised. "Indeed" was the butler's next words when he saw the look on her face. It slowly melted into a smile that just spelled out annoyance and dread.

"Division XII the Iscariot Organization. Enrico Maxwell?"

The tension in the room never subsided.

**Kitten: Well, there you have it! Tensions are high already! I referenced the manga for this, so I hope it wasn't too out of line. I really hope that I'm not straying from Nikita's character or Alucard's character too much. How can I put my own character OOC? I have no idea, but I guess I wanted her to be a little pig headed, and kind of crazy. You'll see why later when her full past is revealed. Maybe some of you have figured out what her past is related to already?**

**Nikita: Why did I shoot him already? It's only the second chapter!**

**Kitten: Would you rather have kept cowering? Would you rather I have you try to kill yourself out of fear? There are many options. I could change it...**

**Nikita: Yeah, okay, I get why I shot him now. I really don't like cowering. But seriously, that man is scary! Am I going to make it through the next week without dying?**

**Kitten: Well, you'll just have to find out right?**

**Alucard: *comes through the wall behind us* I could kill you if you'd rather that option be thrown in there Nikita...**

**Nikita: *runs away screaming* I swear I won't shoot you again! Just leave me alone!**

**Alucard: I thought she didn't like to run away...**

**Kitten: She's not running away, she's strategically withdrawing (bonus fic of your choice if you're the first reviewer to tell me what anime that's from!). I wouldn't want to get on your bad side either personally...**

**Alucard: Why did she shoot me?**

**Kitten: You said it yourself! Go reread!**

**Alucard: But could you explain it in greater detail?**

**Kitten: *sigh* Okay, I know it almost seems Mary-Sue of her to react like that. But I want her to still have a human side despite the fact that she considers herself a monster okay? Up against humans, she never would have been afraid, but if _you_ were yelling at me, I'm pretty sure I'd cower and cry. She's not like that. She takes action. There. Happy now?**

**Alucard: Quite.**

**Integra: Just end it already so that my damn servant can get back to work!**

**Kitten: Right-o, Sir! So, tell me what you think! Remember that I need 5 reviews to write the next chapter! Bonus fic (one shot) of your choice if you're the first reviewer to tell me which anime "strategic withdraw" comes from! Thanks so much guys and thanks again to those who reviewed last time!**


	3. Things are Picking Up!

**Kitten: So, I woke up at 9 in the morning and at around 10 I checked my mail. Wow! Only one night after I post the 2nd chapter and I already have six reviews? That's awesome guys!**

**Pip: You have been getting a lot of support lately.**

**Kitten: I certainly have and I'm grateful! Thank you to KaiaUchiha (who reviewed on the first chapter but I had the second posted before I got the review), VampireSiren, Mr. Schrodinger, Blitz, Nyancat, G.A.P Trixie, and Poisedrose!**

**Seras: Wow! This is so awesome! I can't believe you have this many reviews! But... wasn't there something new to the story?**

**Kitten: Oh yeah, totally! Mr. Schrodinger made a proposal to me, and I very much agree with it! So, starting this chapter, we're going to have a new OC! And I won't tell you anymore than that aside from the fact that this character belongs to Mr. Schrodinger!**

**Seras: Oh it sounds so exciting!**

**Alucard: *phases into the room***

**Seras: Master!**

**Alucard: I get a new toy to play with?**

**Kitten: You'll see. Now, without further ado, let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano! I also don't own Matty. She belongs to Mr. Schrodinger!**

Staying in the Hellsing Manor for the first few nights were, well... Hell. I was grateful for the showers and the nice warm bed for once, but if it weren't for the fact that our newfound existence of vampires, and the knowledge that there were two here, I would have been able to sleep. The job almost seemed easy until we knew the full details of what our services would be used for. I normally had a hard time sleeping because of my nightmares, but now I just plain couldn't sleep at all. I tossed and turned for most of the night, and by morning, I was very tired and groggy. When you're up for most of the night, afraid of what your dreams might hold, and afraid that a certain vampire would drink your blood while you're sleeping because you actually shot him, you start to see shadows move. Would I even be safe when the sun was up? I didn't know. Vampires were only supposed to come out at night, but I had a feeling that sunlight didn't affect that damned monster. A small laugh had escaped my throat after that thought. Here I was, the one who was always convinced that I was a monster, and now I was calling someone else the monster. I was becoming more and more human in my own mind. It was a drastic change.

I took a cold shower to wake myself up, and then dressed into my regular training gear. Since we weren't actually supposed to go out looking for vampires, and we were just to be guarding the manor, we were ordered to train ourselves so that we might actually stand a chance against the vampires. So I didn't have to go around in my usual military ware, and just strolled around in my camouflage pants and black tank top. It wasn't often that I wore this attire, because we were on duty most of the time. Since all we were ordered to do was train, I found this situation a luxury. The battle hadn't even begun yet. We were military professionals that simply did what we did for pay, and we had never actually lost a battle yet. We were the best of the best, even with our small numbers. Our tactics were flawless, but only against humans. Would our tactics work on vampires? I never wanted to find out, but knew that eventually it would be inevitable.

I was up a bit earlier than everyone else in the troop was, but I had the feeling that Sir Hellsing was already up and had probably been so for a few hours by now. I strolled around the mansion on my own, not bothering to go to Brother's room just yet. He needed sleep too, and there was no point in waking him early. So I decided to go outside. After all, I wanted to check out the outside of the manor too, and because I haven't had the chance to up until now, why not? The inside could be explored when training wasn't in session. However, doing some recon on the outside wouldn't be a bad idea. It was information well needed if we were going to protect this place, and why not get a head-start? At least Pip wouldn't have to worry about doing it then.

I eventually found my way outback, and took a deep breath. The air out here was fresh, and there were flowers blooming all over the place. It was a shame that eventually this place would have to be changed. I like the flowers and the air. But knowing my brother, there were plenty of ways to turn this place into a battle field advantageous to us. I took a mental picture of it, and decided to draw it later. It was something I found myself good at doing. I was about to leave the area to walk around the front of the house, until I heard a light humming noise. It wasn't a bee. No, it was somebody actually humming a tune. I looked around me, but I just couldn't find who was humming that melody, and like usual, I became a bit curious. Even if I was told that I was only to be doing training, I always kept my Smith & Wesson on me, and my hand twitched over its handle. I snaked my way through the flowers, moving quietly so I didn't bring attention to my presence, and followed my ears to the voice.

Finally, I discovered who it was. A girl with bright red hair was tending to a patch of flowers, hidden by the bushes slightly because of where the flowers were positioned. Even though she was dressed in a brown skirt and a white blouse with the sleeves rolled up so she wouldn't get it too dirty, she seemed to look like more than just the grounds-keeper. I wasn't sure I could trust her. After all, her gloved hands were attached to sturdy looking arms, and her form seemed to be lithe and strong. I never worked closely with women, but even I could tell when a woman was physically strong when I looked at them. The forearms weren't heavily muscled, but did seem to be toned well, and the point at which her blouse was tucked into her skirt showed that she wasn't skinny, but wasn't over-weight either. No, she had a build like Victoria's, but without the huge chest. There was almost no mistaking that she was more than just a gardener. I didn't trust it, and pulled out the S&W quietly, before clearing my throat.

Her humming stopped, and to my surprise in the next few seconds, the tip of the shovel she had laying next to her was pointed at my throat. I looked into lively green eyes that were behind a pair of red glasses. I knew she wasn't ordinary. However, she didn't seem like a vampire. There was a dark feel to her presence, but it was sadistic like Alucard's or enchanting like Seras'. I lowered my weapon, and she lowered the shovel. Both of us relaxed a little bit and she took a step back.

"You must be new. Most of the men knew never to point a gun at me or sneak up behind me. That could have gotten you killed you know." The redhead stated everything with a very wise tone of voice. She had to have been as old as I was. Her face was aged a little more than what Sir Hellsing's was, and I suddenly felt a little relieved that there was at least one other woman I could talk to, and she seemed somewhat sane. I holstered my weapon as she stuck her hand out. "Matilda Danvers. I prefer Matty. I'm 29 years old and I've been working for Hellsing for as long as I can remember. Who are you?" I took her hand lightly and we shook.

"Nikita Bernadotte. Age 30 and just recruited a few days ago with the Captain and the rest of our men." I answered her question and found myself a bit happier that there was at least one person who was around the same age as me aside from my brother. Matilda... No, Matty smiled at me sincerely and rested her shovel back on the ground. I took a seat on the bench that was behind me, and watched the woman work.

"So, a Russian with a Swedish last name. That's interesting, yet you don't have any sort of Swedish accent underlying the Russian one. So you were adopted by someone who has a Swedish last name. But what I find more interesting is that a woman has been hired for Hellsing's front-line. Judging by what you've told me already for being recruited a few days ago, you're a military expert. You've said Captain already and "the rest of our men" which means you have a higher ranking, so a lieutenant? You aren't ex-military because generally, ex-military men don't point a gun at you before they actually see your face, so you're a mercenary. If you're a mercenary who is adopted by a Swedish man, then obviously your parents were killed by mercenaries, and you were taken in and trained by those same people. Is that right?" I was a little surprised by her words, because she took everything she had gathered from the first minute of our meeting and put it together to find out, not only part of my origin (which wasn't hard because of my accent), the fact that I was a lieutenant, and also that I was a mercenary – not ex-military. She was a little like Sherlock Holmes. At least, that was my first impression of her. She seemed quite at ease too. I was still tense from the near attack with a shovel of all things, but she was completely relaxed and didn't even seem like she was paying attention to me, more than she was thinking out-loud.

"You have good intuition. Yes, I'm Russian, and was adopted by a French-Swedish Mercenary. My Brother is the Captain of our troop because he is the next generation of a line of mercenaries. I am lieutenant because I'm his adopted sister and I'm better than the rest of the men. You've gotten everything almost to a tee. I'm impressed. Though when I first saw you, I could tell that you weren't normal either." I stated my thoughts to her with a small smirk on my face. The woman turned to look at me with the same kind of smirk, and I didn't see any pointed teeth. So she definitely wasn't a vampire. "You're English, and maybe part Irish with your red color of hair. You aren't a vampire for sure unlike the other two in the house. You have to be good with close combat weaponry since you almost killed me with a shovel, and something tragic probably happened in your past with vampires judging by how you mentioned you've been working here for as long as you can remember. In short, you're not just the grounds-keeper."

"I'm surprised. You have just as good of an intuition as I do. Everything you've stated is true." She smiled at me again and flopped onto her back, laying like a starfish. "I assume you're out doing recon, yes?" I nodded at her question and she let out a laugh. "I like you. I honestly hope you make it through the upcoming battles without dying. Your men better be good. There's a reason you were hired. Aside from me, the two vampires, the butler, and Sir Hellsing, all but eight of our men were killed and turned into ghouls. Here's the kicker. The only reason those men weren't killed was because they weren't here..." I cringed slightly and looked at the woman on the ground. Was she being serious? Her eyes met mine and I knew immediately she was not. I hid my fear behind a wall of pride and ended up smiling. I was not one to cower.

"Maybe we'll have a sparring match during training one of these days. If I can go toe to toe with you, I think I'll have a chance." A smile adorned her face as well.

"I have a feeling you'll do just fine. After all, you were suspicious of me before I even turned around. I'm not so much worried about you as I am of your men, as long as you don't actually try to beat someone as magnificent as me of course. However, if we get hit by another mob of ghouls and vampires, I don't think those men will live too long. So train them hard, alright?" She sat back up and went back to taking care of the flower beds. I stood and was about to walk back to where I assumed the training grounds would be when Matty spoke again, and I turned. "Oh, and, just don't die." I shivered at her tone of voice before nodding and running back to where I now desperately hoped the training grounds were.

**Later:**

"Why can't you hit the target from 4500 meters?!"

"Idiot! That's impossible!"

"Wh-why?! Aren't you the dogs of war? Aren't you the pineapple army?!"

"No! Even hitting it from 500 is impossible with a rifle, normally. Anyone who can must be a monster."

"Hey! Enough already!" I hit brother upside the head with my fist to bring a stop to his arguing with Sreras. He knew I could hit just shy of 700 meters with a rifle. It was because of my advanced vision and abilities that made it possible. Yet I couldn't feel like a monster when Seras was stupefied at the fact that we couldn't hit a target that, to her, was such a short distance away. And before I knew it, the girl was already going to prove my brother wrong for the second time since we've been here. I put my ear protection back on and we all went silent as the ex-cop lifted her gun and fired. I could see brother gritting his teeth. That gun she was holding was massive, and looked more like a canon. The targets were still one second, and then all of a sudden the sky was lit up in a flurry of gun fire, and the targets went flying. The truck in front of the targets even blew up! The ring of the explosion echoed into the night as we watched the sky darken again. A "yes" of satisfaction left Seras' lips.

"Whaddya think of that?!" She asked and Brother put down his binoculars.

"Look again, stupid." Seras put her hand over her eyes as if she were trying to see farther. Then her face fell and I grabbed the binoculars out of Pip's hands and took a look before holding back a giggle. "_You killed all the hostages!_" Seras let out a cry of anguish. I couldn't help but laugh after that and she gave me a sad look. Forcing myself to stop, but still smiling, I went over and patted her on the head. She was still shorter than me, and because she wasn't living anymore, I knew she wouldn't grow any taller.

"Look at it this way, Kid. You hit the targets when we couldn't. That's a feat to me. So don't let him tease you so much. That's just how he is. It's a sign that he likes you. I would know. He treated me like that when he first met me too." It was just a small amount of encouragement, but Seras took well to it and there was a smile back on her face. I was glad for that at least, but the fact that she could hit a target from that far away regardless of the hostages being dead was just a bit scary. I was envious. Not to mention the fact that the gun she used was way to heavy for any of us to truly use. There had to be tons of kick behind that gun and yet Seras barely flinched.

Then, when I thought things were finally back to normal, Pip started singing that stupid song he learned from God knows where to Seras. Completely offended by it and totally freaked out, she ran away, Brother chasing after her, still singing that song. I sighed and smiled lightly. They just kind of clicked. Ever since we first started training today, my brother had seemed a bit out of it these past few days, and he would stare off into space for a while until someone snapped him out of it. Then, when it got dark and Seras came out to practice with us for a little while, he would be himself again until she left. I knew he just had to have liked her as more than just a friend. It was obvious that he was attracted to her even if it was a little strange because of their age difference. Though the younger female acted like she was turned off by his presence half the time, I knew she respected him. Maybe it wasn't the same as what he felt, but it was still a feeling right? I was happy for them. It was hard for me to relate to anyone aside from Brother, so I was a little jealous, but not too much. Brother could get along with almost anyone, so it wasn't anything unusual to me. I let it go and got back to training the men in long distance shooting and hand to hand combat. Matty was right, I needed to train them hard if I wanted them to live.

The next morning I found myself with a hammer in hand, driving nails into a coffin as yells and pleads to be let out came from the person inside. I never imagined I'd be doing this, but it was that damned vampire's orders. Brother however seemed to be enjoying this immensely. No, were weren't killing someone by shoving them into their grave while they were still alive. The woman inside was none other than Seras Victoria, and because we were sailing to South America, she couldn't actually go on the ship. At least, that's what we thought, because vampires couldn't cross running water. So Alucard decided the best way to get her on the ship without dying was to send her in her coffin. The woman really didn't like it though, and it took us forever to get her into it in the first place. Alucard had to sit on the top of the lid to make sure she wouldn't get out.

I was grateful when Integra walked in and his attention focused on her. Ever since I've been here, I haven't really seen the vampire. But now that we're in the same room, I find that he keeps glancing over at me. I noticed because it wasn't that descrete, and I know he knew that but didn't care at all what I thought about it. Had it not been for Sir Hellsing moving into the room with Walter, I think I would have been sick to my stomach. I hated being watched that closely, and I swore I would drive a stake through that nosferatu's heart if he kept up his antics. I glanced over at him for the second time since I'd been in the room, noticing for once that he wasn't dressed in that red trench coat. He was now standing to address his master, and wearing a business suit of all black, with his hair uncovered for the first time since I've met him. It was long, and I found this weird. Hadn't it been short under his hat? I couldn't remember. I heard him boasting about how sunlight wouldn't kill him and I glared at his back. Sunlight couldn't kill the damn monster either? Another sigh went through my mind. I was calling him a monster again, even though _I_ was supposed to be the monster. I couldn't compete with him. Yet I loved that feeling. It brought a smile to my face that was genuinely happy.

"_Enjoying being a human are we?"_ A voice echoed through my mind, and I knew it was his. So he could read my mind, _and_ talk to me that way? This was getting ridiculous! How many powers does he have? Is it even possible to kill him? I wanted to find that out for myself. The sweet, black blood that runs through his veins. I wanted to spill it. To make it run like a waterfall. To- No. Stop it. Get a hold of yourself! _"Why stop the cravings? Blood is blood, and it is the price of a human's life! To see its true color is to know its worth. So spill all of the blood you want! Let your cravings take control, dear human! Or are you still clinging to the hope that those cravings will go away with time?"_ I narrowed my eyes, frozen and staring at the coffin as it was taken out of the room and Alucard finished receiving his orders from Integra before she left as well. I found it interesting that he could talk to me with his mind and still concentrate on what she was saying to him. _"Oh but that task is quite simple young one. As a vampire, I have many abilities, and some you don't even know of! Though as to your earlier question, nothing is immortal. Even I can be killed. It's just that no one has found a way to do it yet."_ If he could read my thoughts then he knew what I was thinking, so I could communicate with him in my mind. A small smile spread over my lips.

"_Then you should know, Sir Alucard, that one of these days, I will find a way to kill you. And when I do I will take the chance to watch your blood run. I'll bask in the glory of my triumph, and bath in your blood. Even if it takes my entire life, I promise you, I will kill you."_ That was all I had to say, but suddenly, his laughter was echoing all around the room and he turned around to look at me. There was a sadistic grin on his face and his eyes were wide with excitement.

"Dear human you amuse me to no end! If you think you can find a way to kill me do your best! I shall be enjoying the years to come that include your presence! To think that a mere human could be so entertaining! I'm starting to like you even more! You would make a lovely familiar! I should drain your blood right now!" His rant was maniacal, and I found my heart beating faster and faster as he gave me that crazy stare. No one was around to notice it either and I'm sure no one could hear our conversation either. I clenched my one hand into a fist, my other hand moving towards my revolver, knowing that this wouldn't kill him, but it would certainly wipe that smirk off his face if I managed a hit to his head again. "Still have the intent to kill do we? My dear girl you might even make a fine nosferatu! Certainly one better than that police girl! I have the feeling that you would love the aspect of drinking blood! Or more so along the lines of, you would crave it so much you wouldn't want to stop! You are truly a monster hidden under human skin! I'm sure your father and grandfather would be proud of you!"

"Don't bring them in to this. My grandfather and father have been dead for years. What I do would neither please nor disgust them! They only got pleasure out of one thing alone." I stated what I had to, my hand falling from where it was hovering over my Smith & Wesson. "Now, if you'll excuse me. We have a ship to board." With that I turned my back, and suddenly wished I hadn't. I was wondering if the cornered dog that's about to rip your head off attitude I always had around this man was even getting me anywhere. Was it digging a hole around my feet so that I could lie in my grave sooner? That's what was going through my mind when I felt my body go still and something sharp press against my neck. It almost felt like the teeth of a saw, but I could tell it was much sharper. There was only one person in this room that had a weapon like that on them.

"_Watch yourself human. I'm much faster than you and if you turn your back on me like that again, I may just drain your blood on the spot. You are below me in strength and power, yet you still fight my presence like it will be the death of you. Keep your fighting spirit human, but know your place. You don't turn your back on a vampire. If you do that in battle it will get you killed."_ I felt my body being released, and once I felt that cold chill I received from his body being close to mine recede from me, I knew he was gone. A tear slid down my face from the corner of my eye and I walked out the door, holding my head high. I wiped the stupid thing off of my chin and headed outside where Brother was waiting for me.

"What took so long?"

"I was going over the plan again with Alucard, that's all." I lied easily through my teeth to Brother's question, and I almost felt bad about it. But at the same time I just couldn't tell him about what really happened. There was no telling what he would do to the vampire if I relayed to him the truth. For now, I would just follow my orders and ignore the darkness that I felt surrounding my body. Alucard was outside with us, and probably in one of the trucks. I didn't bother to look around and see which one. I didn't want to look into those crimson orbs again.

**South America – Rio De Janeiro: Hotel Lio**

After we reached the port, we went straight over to Hotel Lio where Alucard would be staying. We all had defining roles, and were forced to change into outfits befitting of that role. Being the only woman it would look weird if I were to be one to carry around the luggage, so I was forced to play "secretary". Essentially my job was to follow Alucard around and do his bidding until we were done here. If anything went wrong, I was supposed to go get the helicopter from the roof. With a sigh, I held onto my clipboard, adjusted my non-prescription glasses, and tried to seem professional as I followed the vampire through the door. It seemed like nothing could kill him. He could cross running water, and he could be out in the sunlight. It was frustrating. It was hard to keep from glaring at him as I walked into the hotel dressed in a blouse and skirt with short healed dress shoes. I was a mercenary, not a woman made to walk in heals. I was starting to think that Matty might be a good person for this role. After all, she was used to skirts and such. Consumed in my thought, my light, and fake smile turned into a slightly distressed look, and I never noticed it. Well, that was until I got a scolding.

"_Straighten your face human. Otherwise you'll catch someone's attention. A secretary should smile appropriately. Get it together."_ I almost jumped out of my shoes when his voice echoed through my mind. I reprimanded myself for getting to involved in thought and smiled lightly again. If it wouldn't have been so loud in the lounge of the hotel from Brother and the other men (who were all dressed in suits for their job) moving in the coffins that were wrapped up in cloth, I would have sworn that Alucard was laughing at my mental berating. It annoyed me to the point where I really wanted to punch him, but I decided to leave it for later, and for now to just play my part. "I'm the one who reserved the suite." The boy at the desk gave a small smile at the vampire's words.

"Yes. You have the suite on the top floor, Mr. J. H. Blenner." Alucard smiled, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. He probably borrowed it from Pip, and I really hadn't noticed it until now. However, now that it was in plain sight, I tugged on the nosferatu's sleeve. He looked down at me, his eyes hidden behind his glasses thankfully.

"Sir, if I may?" My tone was innocent enough and seemed proper like a secretary's should. The smile was still on my face, and I hoped to God that the man wasn't reading my mind. He gave me a curt nod of acknowledgement and with a swift hand I reached up and pulled the cigarette from his lips. "I suggest going easy on your nicotine. We have a very busy schedule, and I don't think we'll have time to stop and get you more. Please refrain from smoking for today?" An amused smirk crossed his lips at my words, knowing full well that it meant "don't ever steal from my brother's stash again". He nodded again and my smile widened as I placed the cigarette in a nearby ash tray. Meanwhile my brother was directing the coffins carefully through the doors still. Unlike with Alucard, I was allowed to address my brother as such. "Brother! It's the suite on the top floor." Pip smiled at me like usual and turned to give out orders again.

"S-sir, for luggage that large, this hotel-" The man behind the desk tried to protest, but he was interrupted.

"There's no problem."

"No. I can't agree with that. For a huge piece of luggage like that-" The boy was interrupted again, but this time by Alucard taking off his glasses, revealing those crimson red orbs of his, and placing a finger on the boy's forehead.

"There is no problem." The boy seemed to be struck by awe at first before hesitantly repeating the words. "There is no problem." Alucard said it one more time and the boy echoed it without any stuttering this time. I simply smiled and stared like it was a normal occurrence, but in my mind I was not very happy. He could manipulate other's wills too?

"_I understand why you did that, but still, cut it out with the freaky powers already!"_ I yelled to him in my mind. His laugh reverberated around in my brain as we started to follow Pip and the luggage back to the suite.

"_As I said before – know your place young human."_ That was the only response I received from the vampire, and I mentally sighed. I definitely did not want a repeat of what happened the last time. Brother was staring at us like we were some sort of alien when we reached him. I placed a hand on his arm, and he gave a quick smile to me before looking back at Alucard.

"What the hell did you do? Magic?"

"I didn't do anything. Is there some problem with transporting it?" The nosferatu's lie would have been incredibly believable if I myself wouldn't have been a witness to the mind control he had used on the boy.

"More like it's going _too_ well."

"Really..." I noticed the wide eyes that the vampire had for a split second. It was just like the ones he gave me before we left the manor. "Heh."

"What is it," Brother asked, a flat look on his face.

"There's no problem. Looks like it'll be a fun vacation." I sighed outwardly this time since we were out of sight of anyone, and followed him up to his room. I was in awe when he opened the door. The room was beautiful. It was sad that I would have to stay in a room on the floor below because my services could be needed here.

"This isn't fair! I have to stay in some cheap hotel in the city! Oh how unfair! Oh Bull George! Bull Joanne!" My brother's antics were annoying to me, but Alucard didn't seem to mind.

"Sometimes it's better to be in a cheap hotel."

"Is that so?"

"It's quiet. That's not like her." For a moment, I thought there was a worried look on the vampire's face as he looked at Seras' coffin. His tone had also changed, and I wondered what could have made him like that. He definitely didn't seem to like anyone. He didn't even seem to like his master aside from his respect and willingness to follow her. At least, that's what it seemed like to me.

"Yeah. She was a real pain in the ass on the way here. Guess she wore herself out or gave up, so now she's sleeping." Alucard seemed to go back to normal after those words and then pulled the cover off the other coffin. It was completely black, and it was beautiful. I stared in awe. "So that's your coffin..."

"This is my last domain. Born and died here." Alucard replied to my brother's assumption and sat down on the lid. Pip smiled lightly.

"That's a sweet alright. So you don't have anything either... Anyway. We start the investigation tomorrow. I'll come pick you up sometime in the evening. Night is better right? For you vampires."

"You should look forward to it more." My brother looked a little surprised. "Looks like it'll be fun _here_." It was a little tense in the room before Brother finally left. I was about to follow after him, but Alucard grabbed my shoulder. "Stay in this room and don't leave until I tell you. I already said...

It's going to be fun here."

**Kitten: So how was that? I worked really hard on this one guys! I don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to end this one pretty quickly. Tell me how well I did on Matty okay, Mr. Schrodinger?! Review! I need 5 of them to do the next chapter!**


	4. Important Notice!

**IMPORTANT NOTICE! PLEASE READ!**

**Kitten: Alright guys, here's the thing. It's getting really close to March now and March through April I am SUPER busy! You see, I'm part of a pistol team, and well, we travel... A LOT. So the 5****th**** through the 10****th**** and the 24****th**** through the 7****th**** (of April), I won't be at home. Here's how it works. The 5****th****, 10****th****, 24****th****, and 7****th**** are travel days for me, so I won't have internet access. Seeing as I'm going to an airport and my flights to where I'm going usually take half a day, I might be able to write some of the story. So those days I can't update the chapters online, but I can work on them still. The days in-between, I have internet access because where we're staying has wifi. However, because I go where I'm going for training camps or matches, I won't be able to get onto the computer for most of the day, which means slower updates on the chapters. It sucks, but that's my life. I generally have this type of schedule all year round, it just so happens that March and April are the busiest. I will keep everyone updated on when I'm leaving for such things, and when I'll be back home. I hope you keep reading! I appreciate everyone's support! Thank you so much!**


	5. The True Face of Alucard

**Kitten: Wow! Five reviews in less than 24 hours? Awesome! Thank you to Elizabeth, Mr. Schrodinger, Nyancat, Pops, and Blitz for reviewing! Alright, so there's going to be a short little explanation at the end of this chapter so make sure you read it alright?**

**Seras: Yeah! It's really IMPORTANT!**

**Nikita: I think she's just getting tired of getting the same question a bunch of times...**

**Kitten: Please don't put it that way Nikita! It's just that I've been getting this question a lot, so I figured I would just explain it so everyone could understand!**

**Nikita: Uh-huh...**

**Alucard: Just shut up and get on with it. This story is finally getting interesting!**

**Kitten: Right! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano! I also don't own Matty. She belongs to Mr. Schrodinger!**

_Recap: "You should look forward to it more." My brother looked a little surprised. "Looks like it'll be fun here." It was a little tense in the room before Brother finally left. I was about to follow after him, but Alucard grabbed my shoulder. "Stay in this room and don't leave until I tell you. I already said..._

_It's going to be fun here."_

"Wake up." I sat on a nearby sofa as Alucard tried to wake Seras up from her sleep. His face was really closer to hers, and when she woke up startled, I wanted to laugh. I probably would have if it weren't for the situation we were in.

"G-good... Good morning..." She stuttered lightly, unaware of what was happening right now.

"Wake up. It's interesting so get up." I really wanted to go hide now as Alucard gave that trademark smile that showed he was excited.

"What... What's all this?" Seras asked looking around. Alucard nodded his head towards the huge picture window. At some point he had changed back into his regular trench coat and such. I assumed it was when I went to go change back to my military outfit in the bathroom. Seras looked out of the window just as three helicopters flew into sight, shining their lights brightly in our eyes. I hid on the seat of the couch that was facing away from the window so they wouldn't see me. "Wha- Wha- What? Just what... What is this?!"

"Now, it's time for war." Alucard seemed to become even more excited, and despite our situation I had to roll my eyes. I just knew that they would be reporting this on the television, which means brother would be watching it right about now. He must be having a fit. I could imagine him spitting up beer all over the place in his surprise. I chuckled a little to myself. This wasn't anything new to me. I also wondered how Walter and Sir Hellsing were handling the situation. There must have been some sort of bustle there yes? "Miss Bernadotte... Seras. Go hide somewhere and don't come out until I give the okay."

"Yes, Master!" Seras saluted him like the ex-police officer she was and then dragged me to hide in a closet. Seconds later, the door opened, and we could hear voices. The order to search was given, and I listened closely as they seemed to find the coffins. They seemed more than surprised by the fact that there were two coffins in the room, and I heard one read off the inscription on Alucard's.

"The bird of Hermes is my name; Eating my wings to make me tame... What the heck?"

"Don't touch my coffin." That was Alucard's voice for certain. He sounded angry. Someone shouted "freeze", but I knew that would never work on the vampire. "Don't touch... My coffin. Get away from... My coffin!" Oh yeah, he was certainly pissed off. Another command was given. I didn't hear what it was, but the next thing I knew, the sound of multiple machine guns reached my ear. Seras almost screamed, and I had to put my hand over her mouth to keep her from making any noise. I peeped through the small crack in the door we had left and all I saw was blood. Black blood, and a body. He couldn't have been killed that easily. I took off the top of his head and he didn't die. There was no way he could have been eliminated by even that amount of fire power. But that blood... That black blood... Was spilled again... It was fascinating... Their voices brought me back out of it.

"I told him to freeze... Weird bastard."

"I know they said we could but... Isn't this overkill? Who cares? They said to kill 'em with feeling. But what's with this guy? He stupid or something?"

"He must think he's special or something. Anyway, our work's half done."

"There should be one more. A girl."

"Okay! Find her! When you do, take care of her like this guy!"

"You 'dogs'." That deep bass tone of a voice almost made me smile. I knew he wouldn't die that easily. "I see, you've got plenty of power. But a dog cannot kill me." I frowned and furrowed my brow. A dog couldn't kill him... He referred to me as a dog once... Which meant he thought I couldn't kill him. _"That's right, Nikita. You cannot kill me. You will never be able to kill me!"_ I wanted to growl, but due to the fact that I didn't want to give our position away I swallowed it. "The ones who kill monsters, are always _humans_." I knew he was reforming himself at that moment. It seemed to be what he would always do in that moment. The next thing I heard were the sounds of carnage. I gritted my teeth.

"_You're wrong! I will prove you wrong! I am a dog of war! I am the most foul of beasts that might openly walk among humans because I am hidden under a mortal skin! I will kill you! Vampire Alucard!"_

"_You are indeed a dog of war, but you are not yet the most foul. I've met squirrels that are far more foul than you, young woman. Once you become human, you might have a chance of defeating me! But with how deep you are, I don't think that you will ever accomplish that. Give up on it girl! You do not have what it takes to kill me!"_ I could hear the sound of someone jiggling a door knob before saying out loud it wouldn't open. Something slumped against the floor, and I heard two voices. I didn't know what they were saying, but I knew it was Alucard and maybe the last of those who had come into the room. One final gun shot sang throughout the room, and I could only imagine what had happened. "It's okay now, come out." Seras and I obeyed, stepping out of the closet... And into a massacre. There was blood... So. Much... Blood... It wasn't any array of colors either. It was red. A sea of red blood... A sea of human blood that was dull and didn't shine like it should have. They had died before their body was slain. Mentally... Emotionally... They had died before they even came in this room... The only thing that gave their blood color was the fear they all felt before their body was slain. There was only one puddle of blood that was different from the others. The one by the door... It was a lighter shade of black... Not quite as dark as Alucard's... I knew what had happened... Suicide. _"Are you admiring my work, human? Your craving for blood is like that of a newborn vampire who hasn't tasted the blood of another yet."_ I snapped out of my thoughts, blushing hard in the darkness throughout the room. I hated that he could read my thoughts.

"Get ready. We're leaving." Seras looked down and mumbled something. Alucard turned around to face her. "What is it? Hurry up."

"M... Master... They're... Humans..." The poor girl was stuttering all over her words, and I felt bad. She must not have seen this type of behavior from the nosferatu before. Has he really only shown this behavior until now? I was a little startled by this.

"So what?" His tone was harsh. I could tell he wasn't happy.

"H-humans!" Seras looked like she was about to cry.

"So what?!" Alucard grabbed the front of her shirt and hoisted her in the air. I stood there, too baffled to do anything. Too scared to move because of the look the elder vampire had on his face. "So what, Draculina?! Are ones that shoot guns and start wars humans or outcasts?! They came! Killing and shooting to fulfill their duty! Everything was to kill! To shoot down! To fulfill their duty! Everything! War is a _gamble_! They bet everything they had on their week cards! That's all! I HAD TO KILL THEM!" I cringed at his tone of voice, and how deep the bass of it was when he yelled. "That cannot be changed. Nobody can change it, and that is all! Not God or the Devil or me or you." His yell died down to a growl. Seras had tears in her eyes by now and I could tell she was visibly trying not to cry. Alucard's eyes widened, and he set her down. "No... That's it... That's all it is..." Was that regret he was showing? _"Shut up human."_

"_Then stop reading my mind all the time."_

"Let's go, Seras. The best darkness is strange and full of surprises. Come with me." The two of us followed Alucard to where the coffins were. "Tie these up together. I have to make a phone call." With that he turned around and went to the phone. I could hear his voice float through the room. "It is your servant, Integra. An order... Give me an order, My Master." It was silent for a moment and he spoke again. "We were ambushed right after we arrived at the hotel. It looks like _they_ are better than I thought. They knew about us beforehand. A special police unit just attacked... Killed them. I annihilated them without exception. Now, Integra... Give me an order. The elite police force is probably being controlled by _them_. But they attacked, followed orders... The ones that I killed and will kill from now on are just normal humans. I can kill them without a moment's hesitation. Without a moment's regret I can massacre them, because I am a monster." I froze for a few seconds at those words. He was right. He _was_ a monster. A monster who could drive a man to kill himself with just a look. "What about you, Integra? I'll be the one to hold the gun. I'll be the one to take aim. I'll load the ammo and the magazine. I'll pull the the slide. I'll release the safety. But... Your intent to kill will be what kills them. So what will you do?! Order me! Hellsing's Chief, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing!" It got quiet on the other end of the phone, and then suddenly, there was a lot of shouting going on. I couldn't hear what our employer was saying, but Alucard's laugh and next words were enough for me. "Very good, that's the last cover! Magnificent! The one who is hit will stand up straighter! Integra! I'll leave now. Watch me, Lord Hellsing." He hung up the phone and I knew without a doubt that anyone who tried to get in his way would die.

"Masteeeeeer... All done over here..." Seras had indeed finished tying up the coffins and I made the final knot that secured them. Alucard turned around to look at us for a moment but then turned back towards the window.

"We're leaving. You take those to the roof. Steal a chopper and leave."

"H-h-h-h-how?"

"Somehow. Miss Bernadotte should be of some assistance."

"Well, never mind. I'll manage something. But what about Master? What will you do?"

"I have to check out. I'll walk out the front door. I'll let the ones who are watching from up above know... Just who they poked a fight with..." I swallowed the saliva that was in my mouth. I knew what he meant by "let them know". _"Sad that you'll miss all the carnage an blood? Or are you scared? You're the war dog aren't you? You should be used to this."_

"_Stop reading my mind, nosferatu. Or do you have no idea what the word 'privacy' means?"_

"_There is no such thing when you live under the Bible. God is always watching. That's what you're taught is it not?"_

"_God doesn't taunt me like you do. Besides... God abandoned me long ago, on the day I was born."_

"_Interesting..."_

"Come on, let's get moving. We have to go before the choppers fly away." Seras was pulling on my arm while holding onto the coffins with one hand. She had the rope slung over her shoulder and the coffins hanging under her arm. I was a little envious of her strength, but the fact that she couldn't go out until the night would kind of suck. Never-the-less I let her drag me around to the stairs that led to the roof. It was a little slow because she really had to watch the coffins in the narrow stair-well, and it took us a good 20 minutes to finally reach the door of the roof, and I wondered if there would even _be_ a helicopter there to steal. For all we knew, Alucard could have already defeated everyone outside. But still I kicked open the door, looking around. There was a police helicopter flying over the roof, just a small jump away with the door open, and a gunman sitting with an m16 aimed right at me. I started running, leaving Seras to figure out a way to get the coffins through the door, pulling out my Smith & Wesson, and running for it. The man's finger was on the trigger when a vampire in a red trench coat soaked in that black blood of his jumped onto the roof top.

"Cover me!" I shouted as I ran towards him. He looked over his shoulder at me before he pulled out his 454 and aimed it at the gunman as I ran the last ten yards to the edge of the roof, holstering my weapon so I wouldn't have to worry about it. With a mighty thrust of my back leg, I pushed off the edge of the roof and flung myself into the air at the helicopter. The gunman aimed at me and I covered myself as best I could in the air, but I never needed to worry. A single bullet went whizzing under my feet and the man was dead in an instant. At the same time this was happening, the helicopter was pulling away from me, and with a sick jolt of my stomach, I realized I wasn't going to make it. A flurry of curse words flew from my mouth as I started to fall away from my destination and a scream was about to rip from my throat when something grabbed my ankle. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air again and I had hit the closed door inside the helicopter. I looked back to see what had whipped me around in such a way and I saw a black dog coming from that vampire's arm shrinking back to reform his arm once again. So he could call up familiars? For once I was glad for that freaky power of his. It had saved my ass from getting splattered on the concrete below. _"Thank you."_

"_You are amusing human. This is fun!"_

"Damn he's freaky..." I muttered to myself as another person jumped onto the roof. I assumed that one was a vampire as well and got back to work. I flung the dead body out of the back compartment of the helicopter, making sure to keep his m16 before pointing my pistol at the pilot's head. "We're going for a little ride... Let's go. Land this thing right over there." I pointed with my finger at the place where Brother was standing and waiting on the ground. Scared to the point where I could see that he was releasing the contents of his bladder in his pants, the man landed where I told him to. A smirk graced my face when the vehicle touched ground and he stood up promptly as if to run away. "You aren't going anywhere but to Hell." Those were my last words to him before I pulled the trigger to my pistol and his brains splattered the wall of the helicopter. Brother stepped in seconds later as I covered the urine soaked seat with a jacket that was hanging on a hook nearby.

"We're getting paid enough for this right?" That was his only question as I grinned and flashed him a thumbs up. "I'm assuming that's a yes. You're having fun?"

"Considering I just got flung around by one of Alucard's dog familiars, yes."

"A whaaaaaaaat?"

"A dog- Oh never mind. Go read Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ for once!" I payed him no more mind and started to pull the helicopter off the ground. I had stolen one before in a break-in we did at a police station. It was fun as hell and I just loved piloting one of these babies. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to figure out how to work one and I was a complete natural at it. It was why I had been given the job in the first place. I pulled the machine up to the top of the building again, hoping the fighting was all over with. Glad to see that it was, I hovered a little higher before descending. Brother tapped on the glass of the clean side of the window which just happened to be facing the two vampires on the roof.

"Master Alucaaaarrrrrd. Miss Seraaaaaasssss." He was calling to them, and even though he wasn't very loud about it and the sounds of the helicopter drowned him out, I knew they could hear him.

"Ah... Commander!" Seras seemed a little surprised. I wondered how she had gotten the coffins through the door. But then when I set down the giant machine, I noticed where the entrance to the building on the roof was had completely been annihilated.

"What happened to the coffins?" That was Alucard speaking. I was surprised I could hear them so well.

"Ah... R... Right..." Had she lost them? No, I could see them sticking out of the rubble in the building.

"Master Alucaaaarrrd. Please hurry up. Won't last much longer. Hurry uuuuuuup. Hurry. What're you doing?! Masteerrrr." Brother was about to drive me up the wall. I hit him upside the head.

"Shut up you idiot!" Pip stopped and rubbed where I hit him. He complained about it being mean and I growled at him. Finally he went quiet and I went back to sitting there waiting for the two vampires to get in. Alucard really was taking a while. Seras had already retrieved the two coffins and was loading them in the back. It seemed he was talking to himself. I didn't know if he was basking in his glory, or if he was solemnly reliving the battle he had just gone through, sad that it was over.

"_Hey, we don't have much fuel. Get in here so we can go."_ I know I told him to stop reading my thoughts, but it seemed that talking to him that way was the only way he would ever talk to me.

"_Kill your enemies. Kill your allies. Your country. Your people. Yourself. No matter how much you kill, it's not enough."_ My eyes widened a little. I couldn't hear his last sentence because he said it out loud and he had only mumbled it. The only reason I knew he said something else was because his mouth moved. He had a point. I felt the same way, even if I wouldn't kill my allies, country, or people. But I could never get enough of killing my enemies.

"_We're dogs of war for a reason."_

"_Indeed."_

"_Now let's go, before they send in more people."_ He disappeared and I assumed he was just now phasing into the back of the helicopter. When I heard a startled yell, I knew myself to be correct and lifted the flying vehicle up off the roof and steered it away.

"We need to land in a wooded area. We'll walk after that. There should be another town somewhere around here. We'll go there and search for an airplane to go on." His voice was right behind me and I shivered. He was hovering over my shoulder now, watching as I piloted the aircraft. I desperately didn't want to turn my head and look but I did anyway. He had dried blood on his lips and his body gave off a unique smell. I assumed it was because he was a vampire and they were known to be just as charming as they were dangerous. "Got it?" He asked that question right in my ear, and I thought he was trying to taunt me again, but there was nothing taunting about his tone or the expression on his face. So why was he so close?

"Y-yes sir..." I swallowed what little saliva my now dry mouth had supplied me and I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding as he took a seat in the passenger seat of the helicopter and kicked his feet up. It wasn't long before we came across the next town, and I set the aircraft down in a small clearing that would hide us until we got to the village.

**Later:**

"Hi. We're back." Seras had a dull look on her face. She, Brother, and I had been all over town searching for a plane that would take us directly back to London. We had also stopped to pick up food along the way because Pip and I were getting hungry.

"It's no good. Impossible. No good no matter how you look at it." Brother seemed a bit depressed as he sipped on his drink.

"Can't get a plane for another week. And having it fly everyday, just terrible." Seras spoke up again and I sighed. We were all pathetically stuck here for a week. I didn't like the idea much either, but I had to deal with it. I wish the other two would look at it that way too.

"Out of the question. Get ready you three," Alucard ordered and the three of us gave him confused looks. "We'll steal an aircraft." I was about to jump for joy. Stealing a plane?! That would be so totally awesome! I had never flown an airplane before, but it sounded like so much fun! My brother had a different idea of what that would mean though.

"No no no no no no no no no!" He looked like he was about to cry. We'll die die die die die! This time we'll die for sure! I'll die! I'll die! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" I growled and hit him upside the head once more. It at least shut him up for a moment. However he was about to speak again before all three of us saw the look on Alucard's face. Something had caught the nosferatu's eye, and it was something at the door. We all tried to follow his eyes, but Seras was the only who could actually see what her master was seeing. I was about to ask what was going on, but suddenly, the door was kicked in. A man with sandy blonde hair walked through the door, his trench coat billowing around him, the light reflecting off his glasses. Alucard grinned and I shuddered. Who was this man? Was he a priest? He had a cross around his neck. I wasn't sure, but he looked menacing. Even Seras seemed to be cowering a little. My hand twitched and I followed my first instinct, grabbing my S&W.

The two men in the room raised their fists, and at the same time, punched. Alucard made a hit to the man's stomach, and the priest made a hit to the vampire's face. Both spit up blood, laughing like lunatics.

"Alucard MONSTER!"

"Human ANDERSON!"

So this man's name was Anderson? Again, the two threw a punch, both connecting for the second time. This time Alucard's fist was in the priest's face, and Anderson's fist was in the vampire's stomach. There was more blood, and a little bit of saliva from the monster's mouth. The man with a cross around his neck barely flinched and didn't laugh anymore, but the nosferatu's laughter was echoing about the room again. He had a wild look in his eyes, and he seemed completely amused. I cringed and shivered as I aimed my gun at the priest. It seemed like everyone decided to pull out their weapons at that point. Alucard with his 454 Cassul and Jackal. Brother with his .44 Magnum. Me with my 500 and the priest with what seemed to be bayonets. A large roar of might brought everyone's attention over to Seras. She was the last to have gotten her weapon and of course she had brought out her canon. She was shaking, whether it was from fear or lifting that heavy piece of weapon, I didn't know.

Suddenly, the look on Anderson's face went to a small smirk and he threw something. A bayonet was missing from his hand and I checked to see where it had gone as he picked up his glasses. Seras looked completely frightened, but fortunately, he had only thrown the bayonet in her direction. Now hanging against the wall was a piece of paper.

"About three kilometers north is a Vatican airport disguised as a country airport. There's a small jet warming up it's engine there. Go. Hurry and go. Those are its papers. Take it and go. While I can control my desire to kill you all."

**On the Plane:**

Needless to say, we had gotten out of there pretty quickly. I had the feeling that we didn't want to go anywhere near that Anderson guy again. He seemed human, but those bayonets seemed to just appear out of nowhere in his hands. Did he hide them up his sleeves? Then why did they glow blue when they appeared? I was sickening myself with all my thinking. Ever since vampires had become reality, I had been skeptical of anything and everyone. With a sigh, I pulled out my small bag that had a few essentials in it including the book I had been referring to lately for answers – Bram Stoker's _Dracula_. I opened up the book and started reading on page one like every normal human would, and tried to focus. After about 30 minutes of trying to, I was only on page three and I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I sincerely wished I were up in the front with Pip. However, there was already a pilot and they only needed a co-pilot. By the time I had gotten on the plane, Brother had taken that seat already.

Looking out the window and into the clouds, I ignored the snoring that came from Seras' coffin. Alucard was sleeping too, but he wasn't snoring. For once, I wished for his taunting, because I was bored out of my mind. I looked over at him and then back to my book. Then back to the window again and something different caught my eye. The reflection of my book was a little startling, but there was something nagging in the back of my mind that told me there was something there. I forced myself to concentrate more. I looked all over the front of the book. I read the name of it several times in the reflection, and tried to make sense of everything. The only thing different about the reflection of the book was that everything was backwards. Bram Stoker now read Rekots Marb. And Dracula simply read Alucard. Nothing special- Oh shit... I looked again, rereading the name over and over. I couldn't believe it. I set my book down on my lap. Alucard was... Dracula? I put two and two together and got one. All evidence led to my conclusion being true. Why hadn't I noticed before? The insane amount of power, the telepathy, that dog that flung me through the air – the black dog Baskerville...

My eyes flickered over to the vampire in the seat across the aisle. He was awake now, and my eyes widened more. The man seemed pretty surprised himself, as blood ran down his face from his eyes, just like bloody tears. Was he crying? Pip's voice startled us both.

"Sirrrrr. We're almost at Englaaaaand. We're gonna prepare for landing in 10 minutes so get ready. Alucard's eyes flickered over to Seras' coffin and then back to the blood on his glove he had pulled from his eyes.

"A dream? I... Dream? Ridiculous..." That was all I heard him mumble. Had he never had a dream before? Well, he was dead. Still, even vampires could have dreams right? Surely the king of them should have dreams as well... _"So you've figured it out? My real name?"_

"_I can't believe I haven't noticed it before, but yes, I have. However, I don't understand it. Why would you call yourself Alucard when your proper name is Dracula?"_

"_It was the name that Van Hellsing gave me to use. I was starting a new undead life. He gave me a new name, even if it wasn't a very original one."_

"_I see."_

"_Tell no one about this. Your brother and Seras are very dense. There's no sense in telling them. Besides, Seras..."_

"_You really care for her... I thought Count Dracula had a heart of stone that was set only for Mina."_

"_While Bram Stoker's version of my history is fact, it has fault. Mina never existed, nor did Jonathan Harker. But Van Hellsing existed, as did Lucy and Seward. Stoker made more than half of the plot-line up to sell his book, even though it was based off of fact. In short, I never knew a Mina or had even loved her. I have never loved anyone. For the past 500 years I thought I had gotten rid of the human feelings that plagued my now non-aging body. However, since I've been hanging around humans for so long, I'm starting to believe they're finally rubbing off on me... I'm getting soft, and it's frustrating to say the least."_

"_That's seems depressing the way you put it..."_ I felt the plane touch down and pretty soon we were stepping onto solid earth once more. It was time to go meet the Queen.

**Kitten: So there we go. The battle in South America is finished. I feel like it went a little too quickly. Maybe I should have slowed it down? Well, either way, tell me what you guys think!**

**Nikita: Oh! And please read this notice! It's VERY IMPORTANT!**

**Kitten: Thanks and remember to review!**

**IMPORTANT NOTICE!**

**Kitten: Hey guys, so, I'm uploading on the 4th and if you've read my past memo, you know what comes next. I leave tomorrow so I won't have internet access until later on in the evening! That's right, I'm not going to be able to update right away! I don't know if I'll get 5 reviews over-night like I did for this story, so I'll only work on this once I have those 5 reviews. If you don't review, it will take longer for me to update because I have another story I'm starting! It's a _Durarara!_ story, so if you like that show you can check it out! And even if you don't know that anime, I would TOTALLY check it out! Anyway, so that's my plan for the upcoming week. I'll let you guys know how things are going and I'm sorry if it takes me a little while to post the next chapter! ALSO!**

**Many of you have asked me this question now about why I want 5 reviews for a chapter, and just recently I was told that I might be asking for too much. Well, I've decided to give a little explanation as to that, so we can all clear this up. I don't just ask for reviews because I want to hear people's opinions. I love hearing your opinions guys, but it's not the only reason. I've said multiple times that I am a very busy woman. It's nice for people to actually tell me that they want the next chapter because in a way it means that they're not just breezing through the story. I want readers who actually care enough to encourage me to write. If I don't have that, I don't find the story a priority. With my life being very hectic and such, I need to prioritize. Writing takes out a big chunk of my life too, so I need to know what stories I should put first. So there, that's the main reason that I want 5 reviews. I was actually hoping that once this story really gets going, I could just stop asking for reviews to post new chapters, and just let people review as they wish. So keep reviewing and eventually, you won't have to if you want the next chapter! It will just appear! Well, now that that's cleared up, I certainly hope that I don't get asked that question again!**

**Sincerely,**

**A dedicated writer who's trying her best to get her life in order in all its hecticness.**


	6. The Queen and a Glimpse into the Past

**Kitten: Alright guys. I'm writing part of this in a dorm at my competition! And we also get to see a more feminine side of Nikita, plus a small glimpse of her past! Woohoo! I have noooooo idea when I'll be able to finish this and update it, but I'm going to say I'll only be able to post it at home. I'll make this an extra long chapter for you guys as an apology!**

**Nikita: Hey! You only have one day of competition and before that just training sessions! Get your act together and write when your boyfriend is competing!**

**Kitten: Yeah see, there's a problem with that. There's no internet access at the range... Since I have to write most of this along side the actual story line, I need to pull up Hellsing online. I can't do that if I don't have internet. So I'm going to have to write it from my dorm and such.**

**Alucard: So just stay at the dorm, idiot.**

**Kitten: But I have to be supportive of my boyfriend while he competes too! He's always there when I compete, so I have to do the same. So for now, I'll work on this story when I can okay? Anyway, we have people to thank because without them this wouldn't have been possible!**

**Nikita: Right! Thanks to Kiyoko Hikari, Imogene19, Elizabeth, Anonym and Stuff, and Mr. Schrodinger for reviewing! We really appreciate it!**

**Kitten: Really we do! So without further ado, here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano! I also don't own Matty. She belongs to Mr. Schrodinger!**

_Recap: **"While Bram Stoker's version of my history is fact, it has fault. Mina never existed, nor did Jonathan Harker. But Van Hellsing existed, as did Lucy and Seward. Stoker made more than half of the plot-line up to sell his book, even though it was based off of fact. In short, I never knew a Mina or had even loved her. I have never loved anyone. For the past 500 years I thought I had gotten rid of the human feelings that plagued my now non-aging body. However, since I've been hanging around humans for so long, I'm starting to believe they're finally rubbing off on me... I'm getting soft, and it's frustrating to say the least."**_

"_**That's seems depressing the way you put it..."**_ _I felt the plane touch down and pretty soon we were stepping onto solid earth once more. It was time to go meet the Queen._

We could hear the voices of the people in the meeting from out in the hallway. It seemed they were talking about us. It was a little upsetting that they didn't have faith in us to make it there. Sure we weren't on time, and maybe that was partly Anderson's fault for fighting with Alucard, but still, we were here. Did they think Anderson had killed us? At least Sir Hellsing believed in us. The door was opened for us and we stepped through the threshold together. There were a lot of people at the table in front of us, and Seras let out a small "wow". Alucard smirked with what seemed to be mirth and stepped forward.

"To have you all gathered here is simply wonderful." I couldn't help but think that his words were full of sarcasm. "I have returned, My Master." His next words brought a smile to his face along with Integra's.

"Good work, My Servant." I didn't like the whole Master – Servant deal going on here. Alucard was more powerful than any other being in this world, and yet he was calling someone else his master? It just seemed... Out of place. "You are in the presence of the Queen, remove your sunglasses." Integra pointed towards the chair at the back of the room. There sat the Queen in all her glory, and Alucard swiftly removed his glasses. He walked forward, passing the guards that were supposed to be protecting the Queen, and to my surprise, her highness didn't seem scared at all.

"It's been a long time, Vampire." Her voice was faded and old just like her face and body. I felt bad looking at her. The great Queen of this country... So old and withered. Yet she held her head high and still had an aura of beauty about her in her old age.

"About 50 years, yes. So you've _already_ become Queen." Alucard kneeled before her. Yet another woman he bowed before? I was beginning to think he had a soft spot for the females in this world – human or not. _"It's called respect human. This woman has earned mine. Know your place and you might earn it too."_ I scowled at the words that echoed through my brain. Would he ever stop doing that? _"No."_ Dammit...

"Let me see your face..." The Queen stretched out her hands and placed them on either side of the nosferatu's face. She lifted him to her eye level and the vampire smirked. "You never change, do you, Alucard? I've become so old. I'm just a wrinkly old lady now."

"You're as much of a tomboy as you were years ago, young lady. No, you are truly beautiful, Queen."

"_You are such a suck up..."_

"_A little flattering never hurt anyone, girl."_ I smirked as the queen laughed and Alucard stood again.

"Make your report, Vampire." I was even more surprised when the Queen herself smirked. She seemed so comfortable around him.

"Once upon a time there was an insane SS Major. 'Let's make an army of immortals. Let's make troops of immortals.' That reckless thought became reality thanks to much blood and his insanity." Alucard started his report off like it was a story he would tell to children. A sick, twisted, toe curling story that is.

"So that's the Millennium Project..." Integra interrupted just once and Alucard smiled.

"Right, but 55 years ago, that project was ruined by Walter and me." So Walter _was_ involved in the war 50 years ago. I had my suspicions about it. "However, they never really gave up. Everyone forgot them. _Wanted_ to forget them. But they continued to live on tenaciously in the depths of darkness while they slowly, slowly grew. Now they are frighteningly close to perfecting the vampire, a kampfgruppe of vampires, an army of _immortal ones who are not human_. This was the return of the mythical army of Siegfried. The remains of the Third Reich. The Latze Battalion." At Alucard's last words, the sound of clapping filled the air and everyone turned their attention to the... Cat boy? That was the only way I could describe him. A boy with blonde hair, pink eyes, and car ears. He was wearing a Nazi uniform and had a smile on his face.

"Tulbacain's 'blood' let me know... Really... No good at all!" My brother, one of the Catholic men, and I all pulled out our guns, cocking them and about to shoot the kid down. It didn't matter how old he was – he was a Nazi, and therefore a threat. "Wait!" He held up his hands with a smile. "I'm a special envoy. I have no intention of fighting." I growled and pointed my gun anyway.

"Special envoy? When did you get in? From where?" Integra was just as angry as anyone else in the room. I too held the same questions. When and how _did_ he get in? "Walter?!"

"Our defense is perfect, and there are no signs of it having been breached." The butler answered lowly, placing his hands behind his back. I didn't like his tone...

"Don't bother." The cat boy was talking again. Just who was he? "I am everywhere and nowhere." You mean like the Schrodinger cat? You've got to be kidding me... Even _he_ existed? "Today for the Vaticans we had gather here, we have an important message from our commander, the Major, so please listen carefully." I gritted my teeth and my finger tensed on the trigger. I decided to let off of it a little after realizing this because I certainly didn't want to shoot the first shot. It's been proven to be the start of a war many times. It was a good thing I did let off because Integra slammed her hand on the table and I jumped.

"_Watch yourself, girl. Or you could shoot someone other than that damned cat."_ Alucard's voice echoed through my head once more and I looked over at him. His arms were crossed and he had a serious look on his face.

"_I know. I let off for a reason."_

The cat boy set something on the table and then pulled out a remote. He clicked it once. Whatever it was supposed to do, it didn't work. His frown fell and he clicked the remote a few more times. Nothing was showing on the screen of whatever he had set down. Then, we heard voices.

"**Huh? What's wrong? Nothing's showing."**

"**What're you doing? Hurry up and get the brigadier general up against the wall."**

"**Warrant Officer Schrodinger, it's not showing up at all."** So I was right... The Schrodinger cat...

"**Major, stop it! Think of the young ones!"** A picture started to show up on the screen and there were more voices.

"**Hm? Oh now it's showing."**

"**Major, please... Save me. Save-"**

We all heard gun shots after that. I cringed and my grip tightened on my weapon. Everyone seemed astonished, and we could only imagine what was happening on the other side of that screen. Could only think of the horrible things the man on the screen had done to even his comrades. A cold blooded, and stone hearted man. That's all he was with his blonde hair and golden eyes.

"Looks like you're having some trouble over there, Major." The cat boy almost seemed happy with that smug smile on his face. It was as if he enjoyed the carnage. At that young of an age, he shouldn't.

"**It's difficult to deal with superiors who lose the strength to stand... But with this it's finally all finished. This feels great. Really great."** The man on the screen was speaking to us. Schrodinger laughed and I was really tempted to blow his head off. My eyes glanced over to Alucard as he neared the table. There was a twisted smile on his face. I shivered. That grin couldn't mean anything good.

"Hey there, Major." Those were his only words to the man on the screen. And the major smiled right back.

"**It's been a while, Alucard. I'm delighted to see you again."**

"So you're the leader of the enemy?" Integra spoke up clearly, her features showing a dead calm and her hands folded in front of her.

"**Oh it's you! The commanding officer of Hellsing! Sir Integra Hellsing, yes? This is my first time seeing you..."**

"What is your purpose?" Sir Hellsing wasted no time in asking her questions. It was as if the Major's voice was nothing but bothersome to her. I could only imagine how completely infuriated she was. "For what purpose are you doing such things?! Answer me!"

"**Purpose?"** The major's eyes narrowed. **"Fräulein, beautiful Fräulein, that is what is known as a foolish question. To put it simply Fräulein, we have no purpose."**

"R-Ridiculous!" One of the others in the room stood from his chair, clearly scared but not willing to show it so easily. "What the hell do you mean you have no purpose?! So you attacked us for no reason?! Don't you think that's a bit-"

"**SILENCE**." Major's voice rang throughout the room and everyone went completely silent. **"I am not speaking with you, I am speaking with this Fräulein. It's _really_ been a long time since I've spoken with a girl. Don't interfere 'boy'."** The man who had spoken up seemed completely surprised and sat back down, astonished. **"If it's for a purpose, don't do it. Apparently it's one of Machiaveli's basic rules, but that doesn't concern me. Listen Fräulein, if you are in a position to start a war, you should know this. In this world, there are people who choose not to have a purpose to get what they want to put it simply. I am one who did not change the rules. To put it simply, there are those who are like us."** He snapped his fingers. The sound of ripping flesh came from the other side, but we never got to see what was happening. The screen went blank. It was as if he was letting us imagine what was happening. All we could hear were voices and that sickening sound. What _was_ it?

"_The sound of vampire's feeding dear girl. You should get used to it."_ I cringed. I really hadn't wanted to know.

"**Do a thorough job. If they turn into ghouls, how shall I say... It will be bothersome."**

"Woah! Looks like this is a bit stiff, Major." Schrodinger spoke up, completely relaxed compared to the rest of us. I could see the other people in the room shaking like leaves in the wind. My brother had even dropped his cigarette and Seras' eyes were as wide as saucers. All but one other person aside from Alucard hadn't lost his cool.

"You guys have lost it." It was someone from the Vatican. He had white hair and purple eyes. I didn't like the look of him one bit.

"**Hm. You're one to talk, leader of the Vatican's 13th Chapter..."**

"Yeah, I am. You guys aren't normal."

"**Fortunately, your God guarantees my madness. But may I ask... Just who guarantees the sanity of your God?"** The silver haired man went speechless. **"Just who do you think you're speaking to? Perhaps I should have worn the black uniform of the SS? We are the SS of the Third Reich! Just how many people do you think we've killed?! This is the group that lived and breathed war and violence, you know? Insane? You say this now? It's a bit late after half a century! Very well! Splendid! Try to stop me! Unfortunately, however, my enemy is not you. Please be quiet for a bit 13th Chapter. My enemy is England! Knights of Religion! No... It is that man standing happily over there!"**

We all looked over at Alucard when we heard that deep laughter of his. He had that maniacal grin on his face again and I accidentally dropped my weapon. There was just no way... He _had_ to be a monster. He was enjoying this completely! It was like a game to him! I wanted to melt into the floor and disappear. Maybe it was a good thing he bowed to people he respected. If this vampire were set free upon the world... There would be no stopping him.

"What tenacity, it's them!" He laughed more. "What a wonderful declaration of war! Very well! I'll destroy you as many times as you wish!"

"**Of course. We are the type to hold tenacity in high regard. We'll overturn worthless conclusions again and again."**

"Alucard... Seras... Fire." The order was given and I picked up my weapon in a hurry. However, Alucard had beaten me to the shot. He stuck the muzzle of the gun into the cat boy's mouth and pulled the trigger. Blood went everywhere.

"**You would shoot the envoy? My, my. Aren't we violent?"**

"Envoy? Give me a break. Declaration of war? Ridiculous. You are nothing more than a group of terrorists." Integra spoke very clearly in reply. "I've had enough of your nonsense. We will not acknowledge your existence. We are simply going to do our jobs!"

"**Hide your shaking fists, Fräulein."** Integra gritted her teeth at his words and slightly unsheathed her sword. The Major's smile widened. **"I see, this is good. A good Master... I can understand why Alucard would work hard for you."** The cat boy's body, which had previously been decapitated on the floor, disappeared. My eyes widened as it left no trace of actually having been there before I turned my attention back to the screen. **"Good bye, Fräulein! I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield! Auf Wiedersein!"**

"Seras!" Integra never had to say what to do. The girl pulled her gun up and shot the screen off of the table before the Queen finally spoke.

"Sir Hellsing. Alucard. This is an order. Defeat them."

**Two Weeks Later:**

"Are you sure about this, Matty? This thing is really tight for me..." I gasped, trying to breathe evenly as the gardener pulled the strings of the corset tightly around my chest. I could feel everything being pushed up, and my already fair posture was pushed to the limit. I glanced back at the woman tying the damned thing around me and she had a smile on her face.

"Oh yeah. Completely sure! You look great! I just have to finish tying this and then you're good to go!"

"Yeah, I'll be good to go when I can get out of this ridiculous thing!" I looked at myself in the mirror I was currently standing in front of. I guess the gown wasn't horrid. I just wasn't used to seeing myself in such a thing. I was not a dancer, I was a soldier. Yet here I was, dressed up in a flowing, grass green gown with forest green accents that matched my eyes. The lace around the top of the corset was of the darker green while the rest of the piece was the lighter. The silky material that made the rest of the dress was of the grass green color with a pattern of forest green, lace flowers traveling in a triangle down the left side. There were two bracelets that wrapped around my wrists tightly, a flowing, silk sash attached to them that also attached to the dress at the back just above my rump. It made the dress look more formal, and would flare about royally while I was dancing (which I really had no intention of doing). My hair, which usually reached my shoulders, was now pulled into strands of a very complex swirl behind my right ear with a dark green, down-feather clip holding it together. The make-up on my face was not too abundant, but was enough to cover the small amount of freckles on my cheeks, and accented the dress well. I had to say that Matty had done quite the phenomenal job. I never would have been able to do this myself. I would have been a wreck.

"Oh posh, Nikky! You look amazing! Of course, not as good as I look, but still, very attractive!" I scoffed at the female's words. I wasn't disagreeing with her about her last statement, because I knew she was more fair than I, but I disagreed with her first statement. I didn't look amazing! The clear outline of the muscles in my arms made me look more like a man in a dress than a woman. I mean, I had a nice figure, and it was easy to tell I was a woman... It's just that I was uncannily strong and muscular for a female. Which was the complete opposite of Matty. She looked stunningly gorgeous in her gown!

It was a fiery hue of orange that complimented her hair marvelously. It also accented her green eyes and red glasses perfectly. The straps of the dress hung loosely over her shoulders unlike mine because, well, I didn't have straps. It was the chest area that caused this difference. With a bust of my size, I could easily hold the dress up without problem. But for Matty, with the average bust of a woman, she needed something else to keep the dress up – and the straps were adorable. They were wide, and made of an almost transparent fabric that varied from dark orange to a pale yellow when the light hit it. The corset top they were attached to was v-cut on the top with a red trail of lace that had sparkling beads hanging off of it. The skirt of the dress was a deeper orange that, like the straps, varied colors in the light. The bottom of the skirt was lined with red lace that held a pattern of fire stretching up to where Matty's knees would be. A red silk sash with beads following its borders was cuffed to her wrists as well. Her red hair was pulled into a curly piece with stray, curled strands that outlined her face and offset her natural shades of make-up. She was undeniably gorgeous, and I knew I could never compare.

"Still, let's just get this over with. I don't dance. I honestly can't understand why she would send me of all people to this... Why not Walter or someone else who won't be recognized?" My mind flashed back to the mission we were given.

"_The Major is holding a ball in Russia. One of his commanders is in charge there. You two are to go in undercover and eliminate him along with any other vampires." Integra lit up one of her cigars and I stood there next to Matty in front of her desk. My jaw had dropped when she finished talking. There was no way I could dance at all. I was fairly decent at it, but not decent enough to be going to a ball. After all, my brother had been the one to teach me, and he wasn't the greatest dancer either. I hadn't realized a small wine had escaped my lips. "Is there something wrong, Lieutenant Nikita? Are you going to disobey my orders now?"_

"_Ah! N-no, Sir Hellsing. I was just wondering... Why Alucard and Seras were not given the job? The commanders of the Third Reich are all vampires with special powers. Are you sure we can defeat them?" My questions seemed legitimate in my mind, but Integra was staring at me like they were the most foolish in the world._

"_The commanders already know Alucard's and Seras' faces. They would be easily spotted, while you would not be. As to if I believe you can defeat them or not – do you honestly think I would send you out on a mission you could not complete? That would be pointless and a waste of my time."_

"_Then if you don't mind me asking, Sir... Why are the Germans in Russia?" Matty asked the question this time, and Sir Hellsing shrugged._

"_Why are there Koreans in Canada? Why are there Chinese in America? I do not know why they would station themselves in Russia. It seems like a very odd place for them to go. Maybe they have allies there? Why don't you look into it while you're there? Any information you can obtain is crucial. Once you're done gathering information you have one simple task. Search and destroy!"_

"_Sir, yes, Sir!" I saluted as Brother had taught me to and then left to go get ready. It would be a long plane ride._

"Well, I guess she figured that we would be able to charm people into talking... We're already here, so there's no turning back now." Matty hitched up her dress and slid multiple knives into several thigh straps. They were well hidden under her dress and I was a bit impressed. I myself had some trouble hiding the Beretta Cougar 9mm on my thigh because of how thin the skirt material was, so finally I decided to strap it to my calf and prayed to god it wouldn't come off. I tried to run with it and was satisfied when I noticed it hadn't loosened one bit and then slid a blessed metal stake into the strap as well. There were a pair of heels in a box at the bedside. I opened the box and sighed. They expected me to walk in these? That wasn't going to happen so easily. I tried on the forest green, three inch, felt heels and stood. To my surprise, it wasn't that hard to stand in them. But that was just standing. Could I actually walk in these things? I took a few baby steps and wobbled considerably before finally straightening myself out. I walked around for a whole ten minutes trying to get used to this new form of a shoe, and after that I started to feel a bit more comfortable with my abilities. The shoes hurt my ankles, but it wasn't anything I couldn't work through. So I dealt with it and grabbed my minx fur coat. It was always cold in Russia.

"You're ready?" It was a slightly dumb question as Matty was also getting her coat on, but she answered none-the-less.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Nikky. Let's go kick some ass! I'm just itching to shove these shoes up some vampire's rump!" I had to laugh. She was having as many problems in her shoes as I was in mine. This was going to be fun, I just knew it. We walked out to the limo that had come to pick us up and climbed into the back gracefully. The driver? Pip. He wasn't going to dance at the ball as he would be our get away driver if things went haywire. Of course, we never meant for anything of that sort to happen, but all I could do was pray that everything went okay. I was confident that we wouldn't be recognized by the enemy, but we were in my home town. My features would give away who I was if anyone here knew me as a child. Russians do not forget so quickly about other people, especially when someone's father is a serial killer. I looked out the window at the semi-familiar streets and tried to forget.

"_Please! Please! You have taken my husband! I am ill! I will not make it and my child is not ready for this world! Take her! Please take her in! Raise her as your own!" My mother's pleads rang through my mind and I started to sob. I didn't want to leave my mother! She was the only family I had left in this world! I didn't want a new family! I didn't want to **leave**!_

"_And why should I take in a child who had a serial killer for a father?" The older man of the two there spoke lowly and with a snarl behind his voice. But when he looked over at me, the hard look on his face softened a little bit. I buried myself in my mother's side, trying to hide from that gaze. He had not been the one who killed my father, but still, he would have if he had to, and I knew that. Even at that young of an age I knew it. _

"_It was her father that killed! The child has done nothing wrong! We have raised her well! Taught her right from wrong, and that what her father has done is bad! Please! Take her and raise her! She will not make it otherwise in this world! Let me pass on knowing that my daughter will be safe and alive!" My mother's tears were freezing to her cheeks as she pleaded with the man, and finally, the hard face of the man completely softened._

"_I will take her, but only because I feel pity for the child. This is not because I owe you for my brother killing your husband. That debt has already been payed with the death of my brother by your husband's hand. This child will be taken back to my home in France... You will never see her again. Are you sure you want this?" The man seemed gentle now. Almost gentle anyway. I clenched my fists into Mother's dress, praying that she would say no. To never see her again? That would be horrible! I wanted to stay with mother! Yet my mother nodded, and the man stepped forward. He picked me up by the collar of my blouse and the back of my neck to pull me away from my mother. I clung to her as much as I could, but my mother pushed my hands away from her and the man set me back on the ground, keeping a firm grip on my shoulder. It wasn't long before he was leading me away._

"Nikky? Niiiikky?" I snapped my head around to look at Matty. She had her hand on my shoulder with a look of concern on her features. I inhaled sharply, no knowing that I had held my breath while I was lost in my thoughts. "Are you okay? You're crying..." I wiped at my face, and sure enough, my hand came back wet. I patted at my face with a tissue out of the box that was in the back of the vehicle. "You're lucky you didn't ruin your make-up." She turned my face with her fingers to get a good look.

"It's because of where we are, isn't it?" My head swiveled up to my brother. He was watching me from the rearview mirror. I closed my eyes and sighed with a small nod. "Look, don't worry about it. It happened 22 years ago, Nikita. That life is behind you now."

"I know, Pip... I know..."

The rest of the car ride was eerily quiet and I didn't hear a word from Matty until we reached the building we were to meet at. My heart rate sky rocketed and I clenched my coat closer to me. I was completely nervous. Would we be found out? Would we make it through? Could I kill the vampires that were bound to attack us in the end? My mind was full of unanswered questions. Unanswered questions that would only be solved by Matty and me. Pip walked around and opened my door, taking my hand to help me out. Matty slid over and took his hand after I was out, and stepped out herself. We linked arms and made our way out of the snow and up the marble steps into the building.

"Let's go kick some ass!" Matty was very excited about this whole thing, and I myself couldn't help but shake in my own anxiety. I tried not to trip in my heels as we handed over our invitations to the guards and proceeded down the steps into the dance hall. My head went from side to side over and over again searching for the man I knew to be the commander. I spotted him eventually, over in the corner of the room, waiting to go on stage. And just as we stepped onto the dance floor, he ascended the stair to the podium at center stage. He looked disgusting to me with his grey suit, blue eyes, and light brown hair. His voice was nasally and annoying as well.

"My friends und my comrades! Velcome to my home! I vish you merriment und joy at zis vonderful ball! I'll make zis short so zat we can all get to ze dancing. So please, enjoy yourselves!" He excused himself from the stage as everyone clapped. I wanted to get closer to that man. No... I _needed_ to get closer to that man! He was my target. There was no way I was going to let him leave this building alive. Well... Undead I should say. Then, a familiar voice stopped me.

"Ladies und Gentlemen!" I ducked behind Matty quickly and hid my face from the stage. I knew that voice all too well... The Major... And Matty... Why was she so tense? "I too vill make zis short... I have a plane waiting for me at ze moment zat will be heading for my home land. Very soon my friends, ve vill take over London!" There were yells of triumph and happiness from everyone in the room, and just to blend in, Matty and I joined in. Russian women were just as sturdy as the men, and while they would not take part in the war, they would support it with every fiber of their being. "You who are vaiting silently in ze shadows to make your move into London, I ask zat you vait a little longer. Ze Third Reich vill make ze first move! Ve vill take over London, und zen, ven ve are done, you may make your move. London vill be all yours ven ve succeed!" More cheers, and while Matty and I still participated in them, I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. "May you dance merrily tonight, und in a few days time, London vill be yours!" We had to cheer again, this time more exuberantly than before. The Major left the stage and music started playing.

"Matty, where are you going?" I tried to keep up with my comrade as she moved away from me through the crowd. She turned around and I saw malice on her face. What was going on?

"I'm going to go kill that bastard..." She growled her words lowly, the Russian accent she was trying to maintain slipping slightly. Then she turned right back around and moved even faster through the crowd. I could see her fingering her leg lightly just where her knives were. Was she going after the Major? I could see him at the edge of the crowd, making his way towards the door. He was alone, and when I followed Matty's gaze, it was indeed staring straight at him. I pushed past everyone in my way and grabbed the woman and held on tight. She didn't dare to thrash around here, but she did try to pull against me. I was stronger though, and eventually she stopped struggling. "Let me go..." Her words were filled with poison, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. I shook my head. She turned around, tears in her eyes. "Dammit let me go!" Her voice was low and in a whisper. I shook my head again and the tears started to fall. "He killed my family Nikky... That man is the entire reason I became who I am today. He took my family away when he raided my village with those vampires of his. I was but a child, and Alucard was the one who had saved me... If that man never existed, I would still have a family!" Her voice was still hushed, but she was trembling. I could see the anger in her eyes, along with all the hurt.

"I understand how you feel... I too lost my parents. I lost my father to the very mercenary that raised me! Had it not been for him, I would probably still have my father. I know you want revenge, but right now, we aren't here for that. We're here to collect information and to get rid of the commander." I whispered this into her ear, hugging her at the same time. I didn't want anyone to hear what I had to say. Right now it just looked like I was comforting a friend who had just gone through a break up. I really was trying to comfort my comrade though. Matty pulled away and wiped at her tears with a frustrated look. I helped her wipe the tears away with calloused fingers and then hooked my arm in hers. "We have the information we need now, so let's go do what needs done, shall we?"

"Alright, Nikky... I'm going to go see if I can play the piano. It usually helps me calm down. You go find the commander." I nodded as she pulled away from me and made her way over to the piano. I myself held my head high and made my way over to the corner I had first seen the commander at. He was still there, talking to a bunch of Russian women, who really looked like strippers and had very crude faces. He was probably trying to get some tonight, the bastard. I shook my head, preparing myself mentally before smiling coyly. With a confident strut, I walked right up to the man and grabbed his tie. He seemed a bit surprised, but smirked none-the-less as I pulled him away into the crowd. It seemed that Matty had gotten permission to play the piano, because when I glanced over her fingers were hovering over the keys. And then, I heard a melody I knew well thanks to Pip. Clair de Lune floated into the air and the commander pulled me close. I wanted to gag and the close contact I had with him, but I smiled innocently as we started to dance.

"Vhat is such a doll of a voman doing here? I vill admit I am surprised zat such a beauty as you exists." He wasn't lying, but I still knew he was trying to flatter me. It was working at all, but I acted as if it were.

"Silly man, you sent an invitation to my home. I felt much obliged to come. I am glad I did... For a German man, you seem much stronger than the average Russian man..." I was lying through my teeth. This man would be even weaker than me if it weren't for his vampiric strength.

"I am quite strong. Nothing special aside from that. Many of my other comrades are sly and have tricks up their sleeves. But I... I am the strongest of them all! That is my gift!"

"Such a strong man..." His hands slid down to my rump and I giggled lightly, even though deep inside I _really_ wanted to knock his lights out for the action. I slid his hands back up before "falling" from tripping over someone's foot. He didn't quite know what to do other than ask if I was okay before extending a hand to help me up. I laughed daintily as I grabbed his hand. "I really am such a klutz. Forgive me." I smiled a true smile this time as I managed to grab the metal stake off my leg with my free hand. It found its way deep into his undead heart when I straightened myself out, and he turned to ash. "Just strength is not going to get you anywhere in this world, you devil. That is why your comrades survived longer in a fight than you." I went to turn away from him as the music still played, but I found myself surrounded by pointed teeth. Every male in the room had been at some point turned into a vampire. I didn't quite like the fact that I was being surrounded. I pulled out my 9mm and suddenly wished I had more than a few magazines capable of holding just 10 bullets.

"Need some help there, Sis?" A voice hovered over the music still playing. It seemed that Matty was going to give us some background to this fight. There were screams as women fled the room, and then suddenly, an explosion rocked the room by the door. Through the smoke emerged my brother. He had two AKs in his hands and threw one to me. I was happy to receive it with a full belt of ammo attached to it. I had almost tripped while catching it though, and I kicked my shoes off. It was so much easier to fight without the damned things. I unleashed the entire belt on the vampires surrounding me, clearing about a quarter of the room with the gun. My brother did the same and then threw some grenades into the mix at the far end of the room. Thankfully, the women had decided to get themselves out of the building, and we had free reign. I dodged a few close blows from vampires diving at me. They really were fast. I ducked as one flew over my head but then got caught under the arms by one. They were stronger than I was too. I placed the barrel of my 9mm against his head and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang, and the red hot, brass casing from the bullet landed on my collar bone. It burned, and I flicked it away quickly. There would be a scar there later. I was partially deaf from the round going off next to my ear, but I could still hear the melody Matty was playing. It was so peaceful compared to the scene unfolding around me. I shot all remaining vampires with the 9mm, quickly exchanging empty magazines for new ones. My brother had loaded another belt of ammo into his AK. I ducked low to the ground, and what little amount of vampires that were left ended up turning to ash.

"You alright?" Matty had finished her song and was walking towards me. I sighed and sat down in one of the ash covered chairs. My hair had fallen out and the clip was missing. My dress was torn in several places and the sash that had adorned my wrists was now shredded in half and hanging like ghosts from the bracelets. I was covered in scratches and bruises, along with some blood that was my own. I wiped some ash away from my eyes and smiled at my comrade.

"I'm alright. Never thought I'd have to go up against that man vampires though... I thought I was going to die... But they were so easy to kill..." I felt pretty proud of myself. A room full of vampires and it had only taken three of us to get rid of them.

"We're lucky this time... These vampires were failed experiments from the Nazi regime 50 years ago. They were slower and less powerful than a proper vampire." Matty's words put a damper on my mood. So the only reason we had won was because these weren't true vampires? Essentially what she was saying is that if they would have been real, we would have died.

"Then why did Sir Hellsing only send three if we could have been killed?"

"She probably knew that these would be weak." Brother picked up some ash and let it go. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to dwell on this anymore." I nodded and we all headed back out to the car. Matty was the only one who looked unscathed, and even then, her dress was ripped and I could see she was missing some knives. So she had played the piano _and _slayed some vampires. I admired that. One of these days I would ask her to teach me what she knew. We passed by a familiar house, and I gasped.

"Pip wait!" He slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a stop.

"What the hell?!" He turned around to look at me, and I could see his face fall into a look of realization. "Wait... Nikita... You can't possibly want to go back there. It's been 22 years! The places is probably in shambles!"

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled at him, not meaning to at all. I lowered my voice in apology. "It's something I have to do, Pip... I can't keep ignoring it... If I turn away now, I'll regret it..." My brother sighed as he sat back around in his seat.

"Fine. Where is it?" I smiled softly at him as his eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.

"Take a right at the next road." He drove, and since there weren't any other cars on the road, we got to where we were going pretty quickly. It was just as he had said too. The place was in shambles, and it looked very dangerous to go inside. But I had to. I slipped those damned heels on again and opened the door on my own. It still had the look it did when I was eight years old, it's just that this time it was broken down. I slowly made the trek up to the door, and wasn't surprised when it was unlocked. After all, we had left everything when we started to run.

"_**Father, why are we running? My dolly is still at home! And why are those men chasing us?"**_

I walked through the door, not surprised to find that things were missing. Robbers in this country would take anything if a house was left abandoned. I pulled out my Beretta just incase someone was shacking up here, but I couldn't hear anything. But then I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, about to raise my gun, but realized it was just Pip and Matty. I sighed and relaxed a little.

"Is this where you lived when you were little?" Matty asked the question and it echoed through the empty house. I nodded solemnly and she looked down. I glanced around, bits and pieces of my memory rising to the surface. I passed from the living room to the kitchen. Pots and pans were still on the stove, the gas was shown on, but it had long since ran out.

"_**Darling what's going on?"**_

"_**We have to leave, now. They're after us. Get Nikita."**_

I traveled back the hallway, touching the familiar walls and gazing at pictures that were long since faded. The first door I came to I opened. It was the bathroom. Nothing special about it. It was still the same as always. A thick layer of dust covered it, but the toilet paper still sat on its roll next to the toilet. I closed the door and went to the room across the hall. The spare bedroom. I walked into it, looking at the paintings that were covered by thick white sheets. I pulled them down, and brushed my fingers over the canvas. Beautiful flowers and sunsets that were only found in Russia were replicated into the paintings. These were my mother's. She sold them as a part time job so we could make more money. I searched around a little more and found what I was looking for – the bag that my mother would carry her paintings in when she went to the market to sell them. I picked it up, dusted it off, and put all of the paintings into the bag. There were only around ten, and they fit in quite easily as nothing was ever very large. With the bag over my shoulder, I moved out of the room, and to the next one... My room...

"_**Nikita. Nikita honey wake up!"**_

"_**Why? What's going on, Momma?"**_

"_**There's no time darling, let's go."**_

I opened the door, and took a deep breath. Walking into that room wasn't easy. I could remember this room like it was the back of my hand. Nothing had been stollen from here, and I was glad to know that. I glanced at the faded pictures on my wall, and then noticed one of them face down. I turned it up, and found a picture of all of us together when I was maybe five, slightly touched by age, but never touched by the sun that had faded the others. I brushed my fingers over the picture and put it into the bag with the paintings.

"Those were your parents..." Brother's voice rang in my ears and I nodded, trying to hold back tears. His hand rested on my shoulder and I held it tight as I made my way over to the bed. And there, in a mess of covers, was my "dolly". It wasn't really a dolly, I had just dressed it up to look like a dolly. It was a bunny, with grey, soft, fluffy fur, and wide blue eyes. I had dressed it up in a hand sewn suit that mother had made for the very being she created for me. She had called him...

"Bronislav... Protection and glory... That was your name..." I picked the bunny rabbit up and held it close to me. This hand made gift from my mother had meant everything to me back then. I had been concerned about him when we had left so suddenly, and I grew out of it as I was raised in war. Now, to find him still here and only touched by dust since my leaving, I was happy. I tucked him under my arm like a young girl would and then walked out of the room. I needed nothing more from there. I had the picture and the rabbit. That's all I would ever need from that room. So I prepared myself for the final room that was right across the hall. My parent's room.

I opened the door and staggered back. The smell that reached my nose was absolutely disgusting. I covered the sensitive extension of my face and tried to walk in again. The smell was still there, but it wasn't as bad, and finally, I noticed what was making that awful concoction that killed your senses. I dropped to my knees, tears falling from my face and I looked upon a corpse that I knew was my mother's. It had to have been hers. She was in the same clothes she had worn that day, and she was still in the process of decaying. There were rats all over her, gnawing at the little bit of flesh that was still attached to her bones. I heard muffled cries of disgust from Pip and Matty, and I couldn't blame them. My mother, who had always been a very sickly woman, was not a very pretty corpse. She had been very beautiful when she was alive, but now, her state was a disgrace. Swallowing the agony of having lost the only relative that I had hoped to be alive, I stood once more and tried to move around the room. This room was also untouched, and I couldn't imagine anyone that would have strayed into this room that would want to take something. There were more faded pictures and yet another one turned face down. I turned it up, and there I was, no more than a new born with my father hovering over me and kissing my forehead while I lay sleeping in Mother's arms. I slipped that into the bag as well and picked up the piece of folded paper that had been laying underneath. I opened it, and read the Russian that was scribbled all over the page.

_My dearest Nikita,_

_If you're reading this, then I am no longer a part of this world. My child, I would have loved to see you once more before my death, but I feel all hope is lost for me. You knew me as a sickly woman who doddled on you all the time to make sure you were raised well. You probably thought it was normal for a woman to get sick as I had. Now, I am sure you're older as you're reading this, and you should know the truth. I suffer from tuberculosis. I would not have made it to your 9th birthday the next year. You would have lost me long before you yourself could grow up to be my age. So please do not mourn my death. It was my own choosing. I will lay here until death overcomes me. With your father gone and with you being raised by another man, I have nothing left. So please, leave my body where it lays. I guess you could call this my will._

_In the closet in this room, there is a safe. The combination is 62865 which you know as your birthday. Take everything that is in the safe. Your father and I left everything we wanted to pass down to you in that safe._

_Do not go into the basement. You know what is in there, and you don't want to see what has become of that place. There is nothing to salvage down there. I'm sure your father would tell you the same thing, so please, leave it untouched._

_Please remember darling, that I will always love you, and I shall watch over you until you join me in death._

_With Love,_

_Your Mother_

I folded the paper slowly and put it into the bag as well. Cautiously, I stepped around my mother's corpse and opened the closet next to the bed. Sure enough, there was a safe there behind the clothes. I entered the combination and opened it, listening to it creak on it's rusted hinges. There was a giant bag inside and I pulled it out. I opened the zipper, and reached inside. Something cold and metal reached my fingers and I pulled on the chain attached to it. Out came a pocket watch, the silver untouched and still shining. I flipped it over and read the engraving on the back.

_Dr. H.J_

I quickly slipped the watch back in the bag, hoping the other two hadn't seen it, and then proceeded to rumage through the bag. Next, I pulled out a large ring, which had a very pretty gemstone in it. It was alexandrite, which represented the month of June. My birthstone. It was made of silver and had very intricate designs on it with three letter engraved on the inside.

_H.A.N_

It stood for Howard, Anastasia, and Nikita. This was my father's ring, and I traced the intricate designs delicately with my finger before putting it back in the bag. I pulled out a hair clip next. It was very beautiful as well, and I assumed it to be my mother's. It was silver shaped into beautiful swirls that led green gemstones in the pattern. I slipped that into the bag again and lifted out the only other thing left. It was another bag, and I opened it slowly. Inside, there was a considerably large amount of money. There was a note with it that said it was all of the money that they had and there was about 9,280,740 Euros in notes for me to take. I almost fainted to say the least and my stomach was churning in my gut. To leave me this much money was ridiculous!

"Let's go." I stuffed the money back in the bag and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. All three of us left the house and got back into the car, driving off, and leaving behind all that had been in my past.

**Kitten: I am SO SORRY for not posting earlier, but I ended up with writer's block while trying to write the ball room scene, and I also got pretty sick after my competition. It's not easy guys!**

**Nikita: That. Ending. Was. Traumatizing.**

**Kitten: Very. It was also much easier to write as I knew where I wanted to go with it. Anyway, for those of you who are American like me and have no idea what 9,280,740 Euros converts to, it is 12,000,000 dollars. I'm wondering if anyone can guess at what the initials on the pocket watch stand for?**

**Alucard: I think you're making it obvious...**

**Kitten: Probably. Anyway, I have a little treat for you guys! So if you're reading this, you're a good reader and will know that I am working on finishing a drawing of Nikita! With what little drawing skills I have... I think I ruined her a bit... Anyway, the rough draft of it is posted in my albums on photobucket, so if you're interested to know what she really looks like, you can go to my profile and get the link from there. The page that comes up should say xXfluffyXx013's Photos and Videos. For those of you who aren't used to using photobucket, under what is supposed to be a profile picture (but is blank because I don't have one set up yet) is some writing that says "Show Albums and Stories" and has a little arrow next to it. Click that arrow and hit "Mz Hyde Pics". It'll take you to the album that has my rough draft drawing up. I'll post the updated one soon. Thanks so much for reading and remember to review!**


	7. Into the Abyss

**Kitten: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh late updates! I'm so sorry! Things have been so hectic since my competition, and I'll be leaving for another one in just a few short weeks! This team is dragging me all over the country! So I'm going to try and finish this as well as I can. If you also were paying attention, you would know that I posted a rough draft picture of Nikita on my photobucket and you can find the explanation of how to get to the drawing from the last chapter.**

**Nikita: That last chapter was dreary...**

**Kitten: Well, unfortunately it's only going to get worse from here on in. We're also adding another plot twist, which means... A new character!**

**Nikita: Oh jeez...**

**Kitten: Special thanks to those who reviewed! Now on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano! I also don't own Matty or the new enemy in this chapter. They belong to Mr. Schrodinger!**

_Recap: "Let's go." I stuffed the money back in the bag and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. All three of us left the house and got back into the car, driving off, and leaving behind all that had been in my past._

It felt nice to return back to headquarters after the ball. Seras welcomed me back with a hug, and I was graced with Alucard's decision to ignore me for once. We reported back to Integra, stating that the mission was a success, along with telling her that the Russians would try to take over after the Nazi's had finished their own raid. She dismissed us quickly, and by the time I got back to my room I was exhausted. We had a private jet back from Russia, but we never had time to change back into our regular clothes or sleep, so we were still a mess.

I dragged my feet back to my room, the bag and Bronislav still with me. When I finally walked through the door, I gently set the bag down in the corner and set the rabbit on my bed by the pillow. There were two towels draped over the foot of the bed, and I picked it up gratefully. Walter must have set it there for me for when I got back. I locked my door, knowing my brother's habit of just walking in without knocking, and stripped down before heading over to the bathroom that was connected to my room. In a couple of minutes, the entire room was filled with steam and I was under the hot water that soothed each ache that came with the scratches and bruises I had received from battle. It was heaven... I don't know how long I stayed in there, but it was a while for sure because when I got out my skin was red. At least I was clean again though.

I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off, pulling one towel around me and wrapping my hair into the other, I slipped out of the bathroom and waltzed over to my bed where the dress lay on the floor. I picked the sorry thing up, examining the tears and blood that covered it. All of that work that Matty did for naught. I really should apologize to her then.

"You really should. That dress looked marvelous on you." A short scream left my lips as that deep voice rang through my ears. I dove for my gun from the bed and found that it was no longer there. "Looking for this?" I turned and looked into the corner of the room, where there, in a chair, sat Alucard. He was twirling my gun around his finger, the bullets that had been in the cylinder sitting in a neat row on the table. I gripped my towel closer to me, making sure that everything important was covered and looking away to try and hide my severe blush.

"Will you ever stop torturing me? First the mind reading, and now catching me just out of the shower? I do deserve my privacy, you know." A laugh left his lips at my words as I went over to my dresser for clothes. I pulled out the necessary items and waltzed straight back into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. The towel dropped and I was able to pull on my underwear before I heard that voice again, only this time right behind me.

"You realize a locked door will not stop me from entering, right..." Another shriek left my mouth as I stood facing the mirror that was in front of me. I couldn't see his reflection but I knew he was behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck. As quickly as I could, I covered what needed hidden, my face completely red. He started laughing and my blush deepened further. "Young woman, if I truly wanted to see your body, you would be helpless against me, and I've already seen most of it since you didn't cover yourself quickly enough. Besides..." I could feel his hands on my shoulders now. Could see the white gloves with that weird symbol in the corner of my eye. "Shouldn't you be more worried about covering your neck?" I felt several somethings razor sharp and pointed on a pressure point between my shoulder and neck and tried not to flinch. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, blocking out everything I could and praying to god that he wouldn't bite me. There was laughter that echoed through my mind and I squeezed my eyes shut harder. _"You already consider yourself enough of a monster, don't you...? To become a true monster... You wouldn't know what to do with yourself!_"

"Shut up!"

"_Should I bite you? I could turn you this very second."_

"No! Shut up!"

"_Eternal life beckons! It's an offer few can resist!"_

"I told you no! Just leave me alone! I would never become a pitiful monster like yourself! To live forever... Would be a curse!" I could feel those teeth that were once on my neck leaving. I relaxed a little, and opened my eyes just slightly. A sigh left my lips as I heard his footsteps disappearing, and I dropped to my knees.

"_You were stronger than any other creature I have met. Most everyone would beg for eternal life. To refuse it with such certainty... Maybe you are a human after all... And not just a dog. Perhaps you would be able to kill me..."_

It took me a while to get myself together again and dress myself properly in my shorts and t-shirt. I dragged my feet over to the bed and threw myself under the covers, completely exhausted. But for some reason, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was buzzing with the events of what had just happened around 30 minutes ago. I tossed and turned for around an hour trying to fall asleep. I kept asking myself what would have happened if I had let him bite me. What would have happened if I had accepted his offer and allowed myself to become a creature of the night? I shook my head, trying my hardest to shake those thoughts. I would _not_ be tempted into a fate that would surely be the ruin of me. I wouldn't become a monster like him, who has sunk so low as to start taking pleasure in killing others. I wouldn't become like my father...

And all of a sudden, I started feeling tired. I thought I saw someone in my room... Someone with crimson glowing eyes... But I couldn't focus on it. My eyes were getting heavy, and I wanted to sleep so badly... I tiredly reached out my hand to the shadowy figure that was now next to my bed, as if that were my life force. Something took my hand, and everything went black.

"_Sleep, Nikita."_

"_Father...?"_

"_Sleep, Malyutka. Sleep."_

"_Alu... Card..." _More laughter echoed through my head. But this time... It was more of a gentle laugh that wasn't considered scary. I couldn't see anything at all. I was falling...

**3:30 a.m.**

"_Wake up, Malyutka... You're in danger! WAKE UP!"_ I awoke in a cold sweat, my hand immediately stretching toward where I knew my gun would be and finding the handle of it quickly. I heard moaning and while my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I tried to locate the origin of the sound with my ears. It was to the right of me, just beyond where the bedpost would be. I fired, and heard the sound of bone crunching. The moaning ceased, and I sprung out of bed. I switched the light on and spun around in my room. There was a ghoul laying on the ground, a bullet through his head, and the blood seeping into my carpet. I scrambled around my room, pulling on my training outfit, my combat boots, and strapping up ammo to every part of my body that I could. Obviously, I couldn't fit everything that I wanted to my body because I didn't have the pockets that I usually did on my uniform. Still, it was good enough for me. If I could take on a building full of failed vampire experiments with just a few knives, a beretta, and an m16, I could take on a few ghouls with this kind of ammunition.

"Nikita!" Someone was banging on my door. I recognized it as Pip's voice and immediately opened it for him. "Oh thank god!" He hugged me and then let me go quickly. "They somehow got past our security system! I don't know how the bastards did it but they did! We're under attack!"

"Then this isn't the place to be. My room is too small. If we get trapped here we're done for." We both made a sprint down the hallway and to the stairs, killing ghouls left and right. There were so many of them, and I was still drowsy yet. My movements were sluggish, and I couldn't run that fast. Brother was the same way. We hadn't gotten that much sleep. We had only gotten back around five hours ago. We had barely three hours of sleep on us. But then again, we were used to this kind of warfare. To bed late and up early. That was how we worked. I couldn't complain. I could only run faster. Kill more. Make sure that I was covering Brother's back while he covered mine. Where we were going to I really didn't know. I gritted my teeth. "ALUCARD!" I didn't have to wait long. I knew he had heard me. And sure enough, around a few seconds later, he appeared beside me, running along with the two of us.

"You seem to be wide awake, Malyutka! Are you having fun?" I ignored him, along with the look my brother gave me. He was probably concerned about the nickname.

"How did they get past our security? I thought we got all of the bugs out of it!"

"You humans will never understand that you cannot create a security system for a vampire. They move too quickly for cameras and the human eye to see! You need vampires to stop vampires!"

"Then why didn't you warn us?! You should be able to sense when vampires are going to attack, right?"

"Of course! But what's the fun if you rely on me to do all of the work? I want to see what you war dogs can do!"

"I could have been murdered in my sleep, Alucard!"

"But you weren't were you?" I went silent. He had woken me up to keep me safe. I wasn't happy. He could have warned me before the ghoul even entered my room. _"I've been testing you since you've gotten here, Nikita... You've passed each test so far..."_ I kept my mouth shut this time. I wouldn't pressure him to talk more. There was no way I would instigate.

"Where are Sir Hellsing and Seras?" Pip was speaking now as he rammed his gun into a ghoul's mouth and pulled the trigger. I ejected an empty magazine and replaced it with a new one, elbowing a ghoul in the process to keep it from biting me before shooting it with the fresh ammo.

"Seras is doing well in protecting Master. You need not worry about them." Alucard wasn't helping us destroy these ghouls at all. He was just running beside us, watching us do all of the work. It was slightly irritating. He could take out this entire ghoul army in one fell swoop if he wanted to.

"Good, then all we need to worry about is ourselves!" Brother seemed to have a renewed energy, and I just watched as he surged ahead, killing more and more, not even paying attention to anything else. I slowed my pace, covering his back so that something wouldn't come up behind him. A ghoul or two appeared in front of my path, but they went down quickly. I had just taken out another one when I heard a hellish scream echoing down one of the hallways. It was Matty. I just knew it was her. I changed direction, heading towards where I heard her voice, and hoping to god she was okay. Alucard was no longer following me. He had apparently found something else more intriguing, and I actually didn't mind that.

"Matty!" I called out to her, listening intently to the sounds going on around me.

"Nikki! Nikki stay away!" I furrowed my brow at her response. That was definitely something I didn't want to hear. But when a knife went flying past my head, I understood why. The knife wasn't my friend's. No, it couldn't have been at all, because she never would have thrown something like that at me on purpose, and if I wouldn't have stumbled a little on a ghoul lying on the ground, it would have killed me. I growled, pulling out a knife with my free hand and making sure I still had enough bullets. "Nikki please! Stay away!" I ran harder, and finally, I found Matty.

She was covered in blood, but none of it was her's. Ghouls lay around her, but there was one other person it the room. She looked young. Flat chested with long, flowing, black hair, gleaming blue eyes, and... Fangs. A vampire. Probably who was controlling all of these ghouls. There were knives of various kinds in her hands, like she had picked them up from a kitchen or a store that had a wide selection of weaponry. I aimed my Smith and Wesson, my finger squeezing the trigger calmly. I didn't care if this girl was young and beautiful. She would die if she ever laid a hand on Matty!

"No! Don't!" The trigger went off, but I was way off my mark. Why? Because Matty had practically tackled me into the ground before I could shoot, and the impact caused the trigger to pull back even farther. I widened my stance to keep from falling, and the gun slipped from my hand, leaving me with only a few bullets, some gas grenades, and some knives. My friend was still clinging to me like I was her life. I tried to pry her off of me to get my gun, but the woman was strong and wouldn't let go. I could hear laughter. It was the vampire.

"Matty let me go!" I pushed at her and pushed at her but she wouldn't let go and I was starting to get very annoyed. Especially since that vampire just kept laughing and laughing at us. "Let go!"

"I can't!" I could see tears in Matty's eyes.

"Why?!"

"She's my big sister!" I froze, my eyes locked on the girl that stood in front of me in her Nazi warrant officer uniform. This girl with blue eyes and shining black hair was her sister? They didn't even look like each other! This girl looked... Well... Like she was from the Czech Republic or something. My eyes slowly reverted over to Matty, and she looked up at me with tears running down her face. "I know, she doesn't look like it, but I'm her adopted sister! She practically raised me! Please don't kill her!"

"Matty, I have to! She's a threat and is controlling the ghouls that are attacking this place! Besides..." I focused back on the child in front of me. "I can be much more merciful about this than Alucard..." Matty's breath hitched in her throat and her grip on me tightened.

"No! I can't let you! She's my sister! My sister!" I frowned, sighing deeply before making my final decision.

"I'm sorry, Matty..." I brought my free hand up and used the side of my palm to strike a pressure point in the back of her neck. Her eyes went blank, and her body went slack against me. She would be out for a while. Just long enough for me to finish this brat off before she awoke.

"You're cruel, you know that?" The girl's voice was like a bird's chirping in the spring. That was alright. Some birds made good meals. I gritted my teeth and picked up my revolver, and making sure to let Matty fall gently to the ground. "Little sister was always very kind, you know? I wasn't going to kill her... Just you and everyone else. And then I was going to change little sister, and we could be together forever... But I don't think you're going to let me do that unless you die..."

"Damn straight little girl. Her adopted sister or not, I will not allow a pitiful creature like you to live on in this world!" I aimed again, and this time, I pulled the trigger right on my mark. However, the girl was much faster, and I ended up missing anyway. She reappeared behind me, and I swung my foot around. Again, she disappeared. I growled in annoyance. She was like a damn humming bird. "Who are you anyway?" I found her sitting on the railing of the steps nearby, happy as can be.

"I told you. I'm Matilda's adopted sister. My name is Pipper. Just who might you be? It's not often that my sister makes friends..."

"Ha. Well, I consider her a close friend. But I understand a little more about her now... Why she hates vampires so much... She must have thought you were dead... For years she must have believed you were dead!"

"I have been dead for years. I haven't aged one bit from the time I died. I would be slightly older than you I think... I was killed when Matty was ten, so I would be 49 by now if it weren't for the fact that I don't age. But that doesn't matter right now, because I'm going to kill you!" She was gone again, and the hairs rose on the back of my neck. I ducked to the ground and rolled forward, acting on instinct. It was the best defense I had against a vampire of this calibre, because not seconds after I ducked did a large sword swing over my head. I found myself on my feet again and turned around to aim my gun at her again, but she was right in front of me. I tried for a pistol whip but she ducked under and launched herself at me. I was able to back-step a little, but she still tackled me to the ground, and I found myself rolling across the floor. She cackled as I tried to stand up again, and for the first time, I felt a stinging hot pain in my arms and legs. I looked down, taking in the multiple needles that laced my appendages and gritted my teeth. They felt like white hot wires. There was no time to take them all out at the time, and as I was distracted by the prickly little bastards, I never noticed Pipper throwing several knives at me. I looked up just in time to duck under one aimed at my head, but was bombarded with others aimed at my arms, legs, and sides. A small yelp of pain left my lips as they only brushed by me, leaving long gashes on the outer edges of my body. I was covered in blood by now, and my breath left my lungs in short pants.

"Ohhhhh, you don't look so good there! Maybe I should just put you out of your misery, yes?" I ground my teeth together as I braced myself. More knives glistened in the vampire's hands, and she pulled her arms back to throw them. I ducked and rolled again, wincing as the needles dug themselves deeper into my flesh. Sucking in the pain through my teeth I made a mad dash towards the center of the room, and dove over to where Matty was laying on the ground as I had left her. "Get away from my sister!" Knives flew over my head, sticking into the ghouls that lay around. Just as I thought. The vampire was being extra careful so that she wouldn't hit her sibling, and it was throwing off her aim. A smirk flashed over my lips as I dug in my pockets. "Wh-what are you smirking about you sow?" I held up a grenade and the girl's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't dare..." I pulled the pin with my teeth and held it up higher to show her. "I'll kill you before it goes off!" She rushed at me, and that's when I threw the grenade high into the air. It hit the ceiling, and exploded. But instead of bringing destruction, gas filled the room and blinded the vampire. I picked up Matty and made another mad dash away from the area, throwing more smoke grenades, and knowing precisely where I needed to go. An outraged scream filled the air just like the gas, and I smiled to myself. Matty and I disappeared into another room, silently closing and locking the door. I quickly and quietly set Matty down and moved as much furniture as I could into the way of the door.

"N-Nikky..." I sat on the floor next to Matty as she groaned and shifted. I put a finger to my lips when she looked up at me. Her eyes widened when she saw the state I was in, and she sat to her knees too quickly. She gripped her head and sat like that a few seconds before scanning me over. "What has she done to you?" I put my finger on her lips before looking down at my injuries. Clenching my teeth, I went through the painstaking job of having to pull out the needles. Once that was done around ten minutes later, I looked around the room. There were table cloths on the table yet, and I went over to pull them off. I pulled out my knive and shredded them into long strips, winding them over my wounds to stop the blood flow. By the end I must have looked like a mummy, but I was alright with that. I heard a sharp sob, and looked to Matty. She was wiping at her face, trying to hide her tears, but because of the blood on her hand, she was only turning her face pink. I pulled her into a hug and let her cry quietly into my shoulder.

"Open this door, you bitch! Give me back my sister!" I looked to the door. There was a horrible pounding on the it, and soon, a cracking sound filled the air. She was breaking through. I stood, pulling out my knife and rechecking the .500 cylinder to make sure it was full, which it was. I prepared myself and got into a ready stance, hearing Matty's breath hitch behind me. Not long after, the furniture I had placed in front of the door went flying across the room in splinters. I was lifted up into the air and slammed against the wall. When I finally blinked the spots out of my eyes, I saw that Pipper had me by the neck and was holding me quite a ways off the ground, up towards the ceiling. "You'll pay! I'll kill you for taking her!" I smiled, and stabbed the knife in my hand into her gut. A surprised look came over the vampire's face, but after that she started to smirk. "You think that will kill me?!"

"No... But this will." I placed the muzzle of my Smith & Wesson against her chin, and her eyes widened. The trigger pulled back, the hammer slammed back and then straight forward to smack the primer of the bullet in the chamber, the gun went off, and I went flying across the room into the adjacent wall. My back hit and I definitely felt some ribs crack. I yelled in agony, and heard Matty scream. I felt bad for her. She must have been completely torn, not knowing who to choose to side with. I looked through the haze that was my vision, and focused on the vampire in the room. She was facing me, and I could see that the bullet had made its path over her lips, and taken off her nose. A smile twitched up the corner of my lips.

"You're going to suffer for that, you bitch... And I'll make sure that you are never able to forgive yourself! I'm going to make you watch as I turn your friend into the very thing you fight!" My smile dropped immediately and I tried to stand. It was extremely painful, but I had to do it. Pipper was getting closer and closer to Matty. I heard my friend scream, and that was all I could take. A cry of war left my throat in a toe curling roar, and I rushed the vampire with all my might. I grabbed a shard of wood on the way, and shoved it into my opponent's back, just barely missing her heart, and ignoring the splinters that now dug their way into my hand. The vampire turned and her hand found my throat again. A wide smile formed on those deformed lips of hers as she started choking me. She was going to break my neck. At least, that's what I assumed. Apparently that's not what she was planning, because she shoved her hand straight through my torso. I screamed, but that scream turned into a cough that spat up blood. It landed on Pipper's already bloody face. She licked it away casually and with an even wider smile. "Here's where you die!"

"That... Might be true... But you're going with me." I pulled the trigger to my gun, and soon, she spat up blood as well. "Ironic, isn't it," I asked her as she looked down at the hole that was in her chest where her heart should have been. A scream erupted from her throat, and she burst into flame. I dropped to the floor, my vision going black. "Matty..." All of a sudden, the pain was gone, everything was silent, and I was floating in a black abyss. I welcomed it gratefully, until a pair of glowing crimson eyes locked on my form.

"_Are we having fun?" _That deep bass of a voice rang through my ears and I tried to block it out.

"Just let me die..."

"_Is that what you really want?"_

"Yes."

"_What of your brother? Of Matilda? What of the men you served your entire life with?"_ My eyes widened. My brother... My friend I practically called sister... My comrades. How were they? Had they made it through alright? Would I be letting them down if I died? The pain came back and I screamed in agony. Blood was flowing from all around me, even my stomach. I heard someone calling my name. Then another person. I recognized them both. Matty and Pip. More noise, and I recognized a few other voices. Thomas, Matthew, and now even Seras. There were so many people calling my name. I heard sobs, and felt something other than blood flowing down my face. My own tears. The tears of my brother as he held me in his arms and cried. The tears of Matty and the others around me. They sounded like broken glass as they hit the ground. I couldn't see anything, but I knew those people were there. And I also knew that Alucard was there, standing over me, watching my limp body. I knew that my heart was not beating. To them, I was already dead. Yet here I was. _"What do you choose, Malyutka? State it now before it is too late!"_

I could feel my heart beat again, and my vision came back, though I could only see shapes and shadows. The red that was above my head was the first person I recognized. I looked to him, and with my last bit of strength, grabbed the end of his trench coat. My heart stopped for the second time, and this time, it would not beat again. I closed my eyes, my hand going limp and falling to the ground while I heard the screams from several people in the room completely fade. I let the darkness take me, never to return again.

**Kitten: Again, I'm so sorry for not posting! To be honest, this was a hard chapter to write. I didn't want to make Nikita seem too strong, nor did I want to make her seem to weak... Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**

**Note: I've canned my Shizuo story idea, just because it really sounded lame when I tried to write it out. But I've an idea for another story. It's for Assassin's Creed III. You can thank my uncle for letting me borrow the game. I think I literally played around 12 hours of that game within like two days, which I never do usually. Call me obsessed, haha, but I've decided to write another story for that game. If you want to check it out when I have it posted, I encourage you to and thank you for your support! Also, I finally took the time to finish my drawing of Nikita! It's on my photobucket. I have the link posted under my profile if you want to check it out. Any questions about it, just PM me! Thanks so much for all your support guys!**

**Also: Malyutka (the true form of the word is different, and I didn't feel like typing it, so I just used the romanization) means "Little One" in Russian. This is meant to be the first form of affection we see from Alucard, though he says it in an almost degrading way to Nikita. Meaning that she takes it as he's calling her something akin to a mouse while he's a cat. Just so that's cleared up.**


	8. The Start of a New Life?

**Kitten: I'M A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PERSON FOR DROPPING THIS FOR THREE MONTHS AND I AM SO SORRY! Really, when I get into a story, I get into it, and when I got into my Assassin's Creed story, it just took off. I kept telling myself to get back to this one and it never happened. And then I got busy and so on. So now after three months I'm finally getting back to you guys. I feel so horrible! Thank you to those who have reviewed so far, and thank you for the compliment on my drawing AnonymAndStuff! Though I assure you, I made her as masculine as I could... I'm not good at drawing masculine things... If I try drawing guys they turn out looking like girls. It's very unfortunate. Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed! It means a lot and I'm happy to entertain you! If you want more of my stories or drawings, I now have a facebook profile specifically for it. Look up Dee Strike and friend me if you're interested! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano! I also don't own Matty. She belongs to Mr. Schrodinger!**

_Recap: I could feel my heart beat again, and my vision came back, though I could only see shapes and shadows. The red that was above my head was the first person I recognized. I looked to him, and with my last bit of strength, grabbed the end of his trench coat. My heart stopped for the second time, and this time, it would not beat again. I closed my eyes, my hand going limp and falling to the ground while I heard the screams from several people in the room completely fade. I let the darkness take me, never to return again._

I really couldn't feel anything, lying there on my back in the darkness. It felt like I was floating, and I just kind of let myself there. I had no reason to move. Where would I move to? There was nothing to move towards. A sigh left my lips and that too floated around above me until it dispersed. I closed my eyes and my nose started to itch. I reached up to scratch it, but found that I couldn't move. My eyes flew open and I immediately wanted to shut them again, though I couldn't. Millions of eyes – no – hundreds of millions! All of them were fixated on me, all of them glowing crimson. That familiar laughter echoed all around me, to the point where I felt like I could touch the sound if I so chose to. Something wet and warm started to slide down my face. Not even seconds after, I felt it all over my body. I looked down as best as I could and tried to scream, but there was no noise. I was bleeding, and profusely. All of the cuts I had obtained, the hole in my stomach, the bruises, the scars, all of them were back, and with them so was the pain. All I could do was watch, as the blood flowed from my body, unable to move, unable to stop the bleeding. So much blood... I tried to swallow, but my mouth and throat were as dry as a desert. I needed a drink...

"Give me back my blood..." My own whispered words surprised me.

"You have no need for it." I knew that voice all too well. He wore a huge grin as he approached me. I followed him with my eyes, unable to move my head. "Do you hate me for what I've done?"

"What do you mean? What have you done to me? I don't understand." I managed to choke the words out, only to sputter more blood from my body. Alucard's grin widened and my eyes widened in realization. "You bit me, you son of a bitch!" He started to laugh, and all I could do was lay there in silence as tears built up in my eyes. "Why?" The word was barely a whisper, but the vampire still heard it, and he stopped laughing instantly.

"You chose this, Malyutka. Why else would you fight for the life you knew that you would never have been able to live unless you were immortal? Why would you fight to protect the ones you hold dear when you couldn't even keep yourself alive? Why would you grab my coat in earnest, praying to your pathetic God that he might let you live to see your comrades through the rest of their lives? In that moment of death, you chose to live, and I gave you that chance." I went silent, remembering my actions. Alucard bent down over me, a smug look on his face. "The heart and soul reveal their true colors when you are in the face of death. Your colors are admirable. It's a shame you had to become what you hate to accomplish what you wish to. Now. Awaken. You have company."

_-o-_

My eyes fluttered open, and even though it was dark, I found that I could see just fine. There was a light snore off to my left, and I looked over to find my brother, slouched in a chair, his hat covering most of his face, and completely out of it. I wanted to laugh, but my throat was dry, and it felt all raspy. Off to my right, Matty was leaning against a window, her head resting on her arm that was in turn set on the sill. She too was asleep, but unlike Pip did not snore. I smiled when I saw her, glad that she was safe. She must have cleaned herself up a bit too, because she was in a different outfit and was no longer covered in ghoul blood.

"I see you're awake." My eyes flickered over to the door. There, masked by the light behind her, but still able to be known by her form and voice, stood Sir Integra. I sat up slowly, trying to fight against stiff joints and tired muscles. "It seems you're also aware of what you've become." I nodded, still not wanting to speak because of my parched throat. "Walter, bring her in something to drink."

"Yes, Sir." Walter must have been outside the door because I saw a shadow pass by, and heard footsteps leading away from my room.

"You're not as noisy as police girl, that's for sure. She decided to scream like a maniac to the point where I feared she would bring the house down when she first figured out what she had become." I smiled crudely. That sounded just like something she would do. An annoyance in the air to my left and right indicated that both Matty and Brother had woken up and that they were trying to make themselves aware of what was happening. Walter reappeared, and waltzed over to me, a kind smile on his face. He handed me a glass of what looked like champagne. I sniffed at it, and immediately I knew that it was not alcohol. The rusty scent of blood wafted from that glass, and while I was fascinated by it, I would not drink it. I tried to hand it back, but Walter swiftly walked away from me, and because I didn't want to break the glass I was given, I set it on my nightstand. "You're going to want to drink that. Don't worry, we didn't get it from anyone here. That came from blood bags. It's what helps sustain our vampires."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I have trouble with blood enough. How long have I been out?" My voice cracked, but I refused to drink. I feared what would happen if I did. Would I be able to stop? Would I have enough self control not to scare those close to me while I drank it? Integra sighed.

"You're going to be just like police girl until you snap. I can tell. You've been out for three days." I crossed my arms. That was fine with me. Yet it was good to know that I wasn't the only one who had trouble with the idea of drinking blood. However, I couldn't control my eyes from flickering over to the glass every once in a while. I could smell the blood from here thanks to my enhanced senses, and it was starting to get unbearable. "Tell me, why is it you have so much trouble with blood?" I paused, not sure if I should answer.

"All she's seen is blood throughout most of her life. Her father was murdered when she was 8 years old, right in front of her no less. Ever since then, she's had nightmares, and even though she can't remember them when she wakes up, I know she must have been dreaming about that day. She became a mercenary on top of it. All she seen is blood. You expect her to have a fondness to it?" Brother spoke before I could and was doing a fine job of protecting me. Unfortunately he was wrong about most everything. I bowed my head in shame, knowing that eventually I would have to tell the truth, and that tonight might be the night.

"That's exactly what is expected." Alucard's voice echoed through the room and I looked up with a solemn glare as he walked through the door. "Drink, Malyutka."

"You won't ever leave me be will you? First you speak to me in death. Then you speak to me while I dream. And now you bother me while I'm awake. It's a bit overbearing, Master..." After that last word I slapped my hand over my mouth. When had _that_ come out? A smirk crossed the vampire's features, and I got my answer without even needing to hear it. He bit me, and like a ghoul, I became a part of him. I would listen to him and obey any order he gave. My words even had Pip staring at me like I was crazy.

"Drink." I reached for the glass, but my hand stopped.

"No."

"_Drink._"

"_No_." Alucard made a beeline for me, but he stopped short when my brother stepped in front of him.

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to! She already said she has problems with it! She doesn't like it, so leave her be!" I sighed as brother stood in the vampires' way, and shook my head. He looked at me again like I was going crazy. "What is it?"

"Pip, I'm sorry, but everything you know about me is not what it seems..."

"Nikita, what are you talking about?" I hesitated to tell my brother.

"It's best to tell them now, Ms. Jekyll." I glared over at Sir Integra when those words left her mouth as Matty and Brother looked at me confusedly. I sighed and sat back against the headboard of my bed.

"My full name, is Nikita Fedora Jekyll, and that is not the extent of the lies I have told to all of you..." There was a silence in the room, and I continued, folding my hands in my lap and watching them instead of the faces around me. I didn't have to look at Alucard to know he was smiling from ear to ear. I could tell. He was basking in my sorrow. "Pip will know, that ever since he met me, I have always considered myself a monster, and there is reason and truth behind that. I guess I'll start from where this truth completely originated.

Many years ago, in London, when Integra's grandfather – Van Hellsing – was still in his prime, he went to investigate one of his first crimes before he faced Dracula. Most will know this as the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Many call it legend – that there was no way a mad scientist could create a potion that would turn one into a monster with enhanced muscles, senses, and intelligence, but I know it to be true. After all, I am the granddaughter of that man." You could have heard a pin drop in the room when I was finished speaking. My brother had wide eyes, Matty seemed to be in shock, and Sir Hellsing was only quiet because she knew I had more to say than just that. It was moments later that Alucard started laughing, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"That's not the end of it! Go on! Continue! Tell them the extent of your lies!" I sighed again and opened my mouth to continue, ignoring the looks I received from those in the room.

"Before he could be killed by Hellsing, my grandfather had fallen in love with a woman that he, unfortunately could not have. Never-the-less, he was in love with her, and she with him. Through that love they had an illegitimate child who was not raised by my grandfather, but by that woman and her husband. Even though they had only truly "committed" to each other two weeks after the woman was pregnant, the new groom assumed the child to be his, and took care of it as his own, despite the child's striking resemblance of his true biological father. Shortly after, Dr. Jekyll claimed to have killed himself to get rid of Mr. Hyde, but in reality, we know it was Van Hellsing. I'm sure Integra's records will prove that notion." At this, the woman nodded and I continued. "We all know that Mr. Hyde was a very violent figure that deserved to be killed on the spot. However, his violent tendencies did not leave this world. As Henry Jekyll noted in his "suicide" note, he claimed that he found himself becoming more of Mr. Hyde than he did himself. That was because the potion he created was making its way into his genes. This then transferred over to his son, but because the genes were not completely Mr. Hyde's yet, he only obtained a portion of Mr. Hyde's tendencies.

For instance, my father was obsessed with blood, and killing. He made a quick habit of it when he grew bigger and stronger than those in his school. He started killing random people off the street. No one could track him down until he was caught red-handed. He fled the country to Russia. A few years later, he married a beautiful woman, who unfortunately suffered from tuberculosis. Never-the-less, they had a happy family, and soon had a daughter. Me... I grew up knowing of my father's deeds as did my mother. But she still loved father, and helped him become anonymous. She understood what was wrong with him was purely genetic, as did I, and I knew, that the first time I cut my finger, I would have the same problem. I act like I hate blood, but instead, I'm fascinated by it. I see it in different shades of red, brown, grey, and black. It's like I can see who the person was or how they were before they died based off of what color their blood is.

I've had this ability along with many others since I was born. I have always had overly sensitive senses. My eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and sense of touch have always been more advanced than a regular human's. I was not normal. I have part of Mr. Hyde inside of me, and for that I considered myself a monster even if it was not as severe as my father's. Eventually the Russian government found him, and sent mercenaries after him..." I looked over to Pip. "Your grandfather and his brother came after my family. Your grand uncle, and my father perished at each other's hands. My mother, stricken with tuberculosis, would not have made it to my 9th birthday the next year. She begged your grandfather to take me in and raise me, to which he did. I've kept this fact of my life secret from you ever since we met. I feared if you knew of what had happened to your grand uncle, you would not accept me. I kept my love of blood from you as well, so that you would not figure out the monster within me was more than just a monster my mind had come up with at random. Forgive me..."

It was quiet for a while, and I allowed everyone in the room to take in what I had said. It was stressful for my brother especially. I knew that as soon as he stood up and started pacing the room. Finally, he stomped out, his face hidden under his hat as he left. I put my head down, ashamed of keeping everything from him.

"He'll come around, Nikita. He is your brother after all." Matty tried to comfort me and I looked at her in surprise. "Now don't give me that face. Did you think I would hate you for choosing to become a vampire? What makes a monster is a person's morals and actions. You are a hero in my eyes, Nikki. You gave up your own life to save me and this estate. Monsters don't do that. They can only destroy without remorse." I wiped tears away from my eyes as she embraced me for a few moments. "Thank you, for all you have done."

"No, thank you, Matty." She smiled at me and I did my best to return it with a sad one of my own.

"Well, Malyutka. You're not even my underling for more than five minutes and already you've refused a direct order." I turned toward the dull king, narrowing my eyes. "You will _not_ disobey me this time. _Drink_."

"Leave and I shall." I crossed my arms like a child.

"As soon as I leave, you will dump that glass down the sink. Do not try to fool me."

"I shall not drink with company in the room."

"Master, I would advise that you and everyone else leave the room. I have an underling to discipline." Alucard didn't turn to look at Integra, but kept his eyes on me while merely inclining his head in a menacing way. I swallowed, and a shiver ran down my spine. Sir Hellsing shuffled everyone outside the room, and I looked down to my hands in my lap. "Now. Everyone has left. You. Will. Drink." I sighed, and with shaking hands, I took the glass of blood into my hands. The smell was driving my senses wild and I resisted the urge to gulp the glass down. All I could do was stare, and I felt myself getting lost in the dull red that rippled from the tremors in my hand. "_Drink_."

"I cannot!" Before I knew what I was saying, it left my lips. "I do not want to become that monster! I do not want to become what I've hated and avoided for all my life!"

"Then you should have allowed your soul to move on! You should have died! Yet you chose to "live"! It is too late for you little girl! You have made your choice! _Now drink!_" Alucard was barely inches from me now, hovering over me like the demon that he was.

"_I can't_." Slowly, he backed away, a scowl on his face.

"If you will not drink, then I shall make it difficult for you to resist the urge." Before I knew what was going on, he took a knife from my bedside stand and pulled his sleeve back. He sliced down his wrist and held it in front of my eyes. All I could do was watch as the blackest of all blood dripped from his arm and into the glass I held. My breath hitched. The smell was more intoxicating than anything I had ever smelled before, and it was invading my senses. I looked to the glass in my hand, which was slowly turning a very dark brown from the two colors mixing together. I could hardly breathe, and it was uncomfortable, even if I knew I would never have to take another breath in my life.

"What have you done?" I whispered the words, but I knew he could hear me. He laughed as the wound healed and he rolled his sleeve back down.

"I have made this drink irresistable. You should see your eyes, Malyutka. They are so bright a crimson they could rival my own! Now drink!" My eyes widened as something else took over and I obeyed without question, draining the glass down to the very last drop and using my tongue to find the leftovers when I was finished. It was only after the glass was clean did I come back to my senses. All I could do was stare – stare at the hands that held the glass. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes again and hear Alucard laughing loudly. I looked up, but he was no longer there. "Just remember, you chose this, Malyutka! There is no going back!" His voice still echoed around my room, and finally, I let the tears fall. An enfuriated roar of rage ripped from my throat, and the glass shattered in my hands. It sliced my finger open, and in surprise I looked down. Black dripped from my finger. A pure black that wasn't quite as dark as my master's, but darker than any other black I had seen. I had made a grave mistake.

_-o-_

A series of gun shots filled the training grounds as I walked through the make-shift course. My breathing was raggad and heavy, but not from exertion. No. I had found that there was no such thing as exertion after the transformation. Everything was smooth and easy. And that was what scared me. My breathing was that of a woman who was terrified. Terrified of her own new abilities. I was trembling and drenched in a cold sweat, yet it didn't affect my shots in the slightest bit. I saw the recoil, but never felt it. It was one thing for a human to handle a 50 calibre revolver without breaking a wrist, but this was unbelieveable. There was _nothing_ to the recoil anymore! For once in my life, I was truly terrified of myself. I had literally become what I always told myself I was – a monster.

"Leuitenant Bernadotte?" I spun around, pistol immeditately aimed at the heart of the man who had called me. He went rigid and a look of terror flashed over his face. In surprise, I quickly holstered the pistol. This man – Timothy, was at the bottom of the ranks, and rarely ever spoke to me. Still only 19 years old, he was the only survivor of a pirate raid on his family ship just off the coast of England. Pip had found him scrounging for scrap on the streets when he took him in. The boy had gone from being rich to being homeless in a matter of moments as the government had taken the estate.

"Forgive me, you startled me." I apologized, bowing my head.

"It's quite alright, Leuitenant Bernadotte. I should have called you from a farther distance-"

"Hyde," I interupted him. A confused look changed his young features.

"Pardon?"

"My true name is Hyde, not Bernadotte." The boy seemed completely startled but nodded his head.

"Forgive me, Leuitenant Hyde."

"You are forgiven. Now, what is it you need, Timothy?" He shuffled his feet timidly for a moment then, looking at the ground.

"Well, a couple of the lower ranking men and myself were wondering if you would possibly teach us close combat. The other men said we don't need it and won't teach us, but something's stirring in the air. We can feel the chill run down our necks, ma'am. We just want to be able to defend ourselves if we ever run out of ammunition and only have our knives." More shuffling of his feet before looking up to me hopefully. I smiled and nodded. "Oh thank you, Leuitenant Berna- I mean Leuitenant Hyde!" He saluted me and ran off to find the other soldiers. It wasn't long before they were all gathered around me, standing straight at attention. I looked on at the pitiful inexperienced men, knowing that they never should have been here.

"Alright, you want me to teach you close combat, but there are a few things we have to clear up." I had barely even spoken, and yet these boys were already quaking in their boots. Still, I continued. "First, you are up against a totally new enemy. They aren't going to be like our previous opponents. These are _vampires_, and they are faster, stronger, and probably ex-military men who wanted eternal life." I paused for them to soak the information in. These inexperienced and naïve men didn't stand a chance, but for their sakes, I wouldn't tell them that. "However, they have one fatal flaw. They don't use guerilla warfare tactics like we do. They're expecting a guard, not a bunch of mercenaries. We have the element of surprise on our hands. We need to fight dirty! In close combat you pull cheap punches. There is no such thing as mercy and fairness in this war. You give them a chance and they'll kill you. Fling dirt in their eyes, throw grenades, be bold and instead of running from them, rush them! They will more than likely try to attack with their hands before using guns or weapons because they believe themselves superior. Thus, we must be ready for them. Now, anyone who wishes to quit, the gate is over there. Have fun in death, because if you can't defend yourself, you're going to die." Not one person moved, but I could see the fear in their eyes. I could smell it radiating from their bodies. It was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. With a nod, I motioned for Albert, one of the more experienced of the lower ranks to come forward.

"You all know the basics of close combat. Simple punches and kicks can go a long way against a mere human, but these are vampires we're dealing with." I never liked to flaunt my power. It made me seem "higher" than the others in my opinion, so I rarely talked about my abilities. But now, a display of power was needed. These men needed to know what they were up against. I walked up to Albert. He was twice my size at the age of 25 and for any person would be difficult to pick up. Yet when I grabbed his shirt and hoisted him above my head, he weighed nothing to me. Nothing at all. "Vampires are stronger than any human being," I stated, setting the now startled man back on the ground. Then, I took two steps before going into an all out sprint to get behind the group standing in front of me. To them it probably looked like I had disappeared, and to me, everything seemed to go in slow motion around me as I ran. "They're faster than any human being." The group seemed completely surprised when I appeared behind them and they all turned around in astonishment. I walked between them and they cleared a path for me. "A vampire's senses are also heightened more than a human's. Essentially, everything you can do, a vamipre can do at least 20 times better, which is why we need to make ourselves 40 times better at what we do."

"But, Leiutenant Hyde... It's easier for you to say because you're a vampire now... We're only human. How could we possibly stand a chance?" Timothy spoke up behind me, stating what everyone was already asking themselves.

"Human?" I turned on my heel to face them. "You think yourselves human? No. We're not human. None of us are. Could a human do what we do on a daily basis? Never. We! We are dogs! War dogs! We let go of our humanity long ago to fight for just a little bit of money! We are stronger than humans, and that is why we shall prevail!" Something sparked in their eyes as I spurred them on, and they all let out a cry that echoed loudly through the grounds. A true smile tugged on my lips at the sound, and the unease that had graced the group's aura disappeared. "Now... Who's ready for a few lessons on how to fight dirty?" They gave another cheer and I pulled Albert forward again. He got into a fighting position and I mirrored him. "Get your knife ready, Albert." It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

"But... Leiutenant..." He stuttered, trying to find the right words.

"I will not die from a knife wound, soldier. You have to stab my heart or behead me to kill me. Are you planning to do either?"

"Well, no."

"Good. Pull out your knife." He obeyed. "The stabbing and beheading comes later on a practice target, which certainly won't be me. Now, I want you to rush me." The man hesitated, but finally rushed me. He didn't get very close before I picked him up by his shirt and threw him as gently as I could to the ground. Before he could blink I was straddling his chest and pinning him with one hand. "Lesson number one – don't hesitate. Remember, these men are faster than you. Any hesitation will get you killed." Albert's eyes were wide as he looked up at me, and he seemed helpless. "Well, try to get me off!" As quickly as he could, he struggled to push my hand away, not using the knife at all, and really just pushing as hard as he could. I sat there, barely exerting any effort. "Lesson number two – don't be afraid to use your weapons or anything else to your advantage. I picked up his knife as I stood, and grabbed some dirt from the ground. The man was about to get up, but I threw the knife and it embedded itself into the grass next to his head, and then I threw the dirt I had in his eyes. He hissed and started to rub the dirt away. "Fight dirty. These men were once humans as well, and recently. Though vampires don't need to breathe, can't be killed by "simple" wounds, and can see just as well as any human even with dirt in their eyes, they still have human traits. They still feel pain when stabbed and will flinch. They will still try to rub the dirt out of their eyes when it is thrown there. And they will still try to breathe even though it is not needed. These things, and others will distract them and may just save your life. Use them to your advantage. If it affects you, more than likely it will affect them." I gave Albert a hand in standing up. "I'll give you another chance and then I'll take the next person."

_-o-_

Things moved very quickly that night and for the next couple of nights. For the soldiers anyway. For me, everything seemed to take longer than it should have, but I was happy with how the men were progressing. They hardly hesitated anymore, and were coming up with very creative ways to distract me and to get me to pull back for a few seconds. At the same time, I was learning myself not to flinch so much. If a knife sliced me somewhere, I was able to just let it go and fight through it. However, the more wounds I got, the slower they healed, and I had to be extra careful. It was interesting none-the-less, and when the men were tired out and breathing hard, I told them to retire to their beds for the night.

I looked down at my wounds and sighed. They were still healing at a visible rate, but not as quickly as they had been before, and I knew it was because I had refused the blood packets these past two days. I took off my uniform jacket so that I was just in my shorts and black tank-top and proceeded to wipe the blood off with the jacket. I would wash it later.

"The men are starting to learn a thing or two and yet they'll all die in the end..." I paused, not as startled as I would have imagined. Somehow I just knew he would be there if I turned around. I finished wiping myself down, and threw the jacket over my shoulder.

"My men are very capable, and I will see them through this fight. They have been proving themselves continuously. Now, if you're done destroying whatever hope I have for them, will you please leave?" When I turned around to face him, he was right in front of me. He grabbed my chin and tilted it back so that my eyes could meet his.

"Still playing on the offensive with me? You would think by now you would have learned that is not such a smart idea. I am your master now, and you will obey my orders. Is that understood?" He smiled when I gritted my teeth and sighed deeply.

"Yes, Master." He let go of me and I jerked my head away.

"Good. Now clean up and meet me in my room in 30 minutes." When I looked up again, he was gone. Another sigh left my lips as I made my way back to my room. I turned the hot water on in the shower and undressed. It was only as I was about to step in did I actually stop to think. Was Alucard just playing a trick on me? Could I really shower without bursting into flames or something like that? Just to test it, I placed my finger under the water, and was relieved to find that I was perfectly okay. It seemed that I couldn't cross bodies of water or running water, but showers were okay. Kind of like rain. I finished up quickly and dried myself off, finding that I didn't like showers as much as I used to anymore. I was about to leave when someone knocked on my door. Upon opening it, I found Pip standing there.

"Nikita... Can we... Talk?" He seemed sad, and kept his head low when I allowed him into the room. I didn't shut the door for his own comfort, especially since we hadn't spoken in days. He took a seat on my bed, and I leaned against my dresser quietly, giving him time to collect himself. "Nik... I've been talking with Seras a little bit, and I've come to realize something... I remember something that my grandfather once told me... He said that your father had been killed because he had done bad deeds. That he found you with your mother and that she too was dying. He told me that your father had deserved the punishment he had received, and that for a moment he didn't want to take you in because of your lineage. Yet he did, because it was not you who had done those evil deeds, it was your father. He would not damn you because of something that was not your doing. He said that even though you were not truly family, he loved you like a daughter..." Brother paused for a moment, then stood and walked over to me. I stiffened for a moment, but relaxed immediately when he pulled me into a hug. "You are still family. No matter what you become. Vampire or not. Granddaughter of a monster or not, you are still my sister. Still a Bernadotte. And I will never abandon you." He pulled back to grip my shoulders. "Forgive me for my ignorance. I should have realized this earlier." I wiped a few tears from my eyes and pulled him into a desperate hug. He gasped for a moment like he couldn't breathe, but then rested a hand on my head.

"I forgive you, Brother." I pulled away and smiled. "But really, I can't run from my past anymore. I'm just as much a Hyde as I am a Bernadotte. So please, call me by my real name from now on? We all know I'm a Bernadotte at heart."

"_Your half hour is up, Malyutka._"

"_Five minutes, Master. I will be there._"

"Forgive me, Brother, but I am being summoned. Please, get some sleep?" I kissed his forehead and left the room, immediately regretting the kiss. My throat clenched up and my mouth went dry. I could still hear my brother's heart beat from down the hall and I tried to swallow to no avail. My instincts screamed for me to turn around and sink my teeth into his neck. To drink from the fountain that would surely errupt. But he was my brother, and there was no way I would ever do such a thing to him. Never in my undead life would I touch him with my new fangs. It was a promise I made then and there.

"You're late. Are you disobeying me again?" Alucard sat with his fingers locked together in his "room". I stood still in front of him, arms by my side, keeping my head low.

"Family comes first. You may be my master, but I have other callings as well." The elder vampire merely inclined his head as if he did not quite understand but found the excuse reasonable enough.

"Take a seat and have some blood with me, Malyutka." He motioned with his hand to a chair next to the table on his left. Hesitantly, I sat down and picked up one of the blood packets that was sitting on the table. When the man nodded, I poked a small hole into the plastic and sucked some of the blood through. It slid smoothly down my throat and I couldn't help the shiver of delight that shook my spine. I could feel my control wavering, and to ease it, I tried talking to distract myself.

"Where is Seras?"

"Use your senses. As a vampire you have a third eye. Tap into it and find Seras on your own." I sighed. He couldn't just tell me? Concentrating, I closed my eyes and searched. It wasn't easy at first. I kept finding my brother and where he was. In the end, all that did was make me thirstier. So I concentrated harder and focused on Seras' particular aura. When I found her, she was in the dining hall, and there was a scent of human food wafting about her. I could pick out what was setting in the room just by the smell of it. It was all I could figure out before I felt exhausted however, and I had to stop.

"So she's in the dining hall surrounded by food. Why is she not here?" I tried to sip slowly at the blood packet, but I found that I had drained it completely at the end of ten minutes. Alucard had barely even touched his first one. I didn't reach for another one until he nodded again and this time I focused completely on trying not to drain the packet.

"She will not join us. The girl hasn't touched a blood packet or even drank a spot of blood since she's been turned. She refuses." I looked down at the blood packet in my hand. I could barely go an hour without drinking blood since I awoke as a vampire. Granted I didn't need one every hour, I just craved one every hour. Only after about five hours did I start to get a little jumpy around my human comrades. How I wished I could go forever without having to drink the source of my sorrow. I was envious of the police girl. "You should not be envious of her, Malyutka. Not drinking blood causes her to be weak. The only reason she is stronger than the typical vampire is because I am the one that bit her. You are stronger than her now because you will drink blood willingly. Did you want to be a weak vampire?" Alucard's words caught me slightly off guard.

"I did not want to be a vampire at all. Yet as I was dying... I was willing to do anything... Anything to protect my family and see them through the rest of their lives."

"You are concerned about more than just that. I do not have to read your thoughts to see that." It's not like he didn't read them anyway. I sighed, squeezing the blood packet a little and almost spilling some of it down the side.

"There are many things that plague my mind. Timothy has taken a liking to me and will not leave my side unless I ask him to. He even asked me to drink his blood if he dies, knowing that it would turn him into a vampire. Brother is getting closer to Seras in a way that I'm not comfortable with, specifically because Seras is half my brother's age. Yet I cannot stop him from falling in love with that girl, because that's exactly what is happening. The Nazis are on their way, I can feel it. And most importantly..." My throat went dry again as I stared intently at the blood packet.

"Your blood lust bother's you?" Alucard asked the obvious. "Before I was captured by Van Hellsing, I would drink all the blood I wanted to. I could destroy a whole town without a thoat and drain everyone's blood. It is what you and I live off of. We may not be so liberal now, but if we were you would have the ability to do the same."

"I would not want to."

"You would defy your nature?"

"I was once a human. Well, as human as a monster could be. I have morals. I still do. I suppose you would not understand. You have never been human."

"You are wrong." I paused. I didn't even breathe, even though I found it uncomfortable. "I was once a human as well. It was a long... Very long time ago." Alucard's voice went soft, as if he were remembering something. As if he were weak and racked with pain at that time.

"Then you have forgotten how to be human." I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth.

"Perhaps... But then I find myself wondering why I took pity on you. Why I took pity on Seras even. Why I would turn you both simply because you wanted to live. I have seen many die before me. Many have died by my hands. And yet I feel that letting you both die without a choice was wrong when I wouldn't have spared a passing glance at any other person. It would seem I am becoming soft." We were quiet for a long while after that, the both of us taking our time with the blood packets. Finally, I broke that silence.

"Why do you call me Malyutka?"

"Because you are young and naïve. You are but a mouse compared to me, the agile very existence is nothing but a spec of dust compared to mine. I am myth and legend. You are only a woman. And yet you are tolerable. You are exactly what I call you. A little one." I scowled at his statement.

"One day, I will show you that I am not so little."

He laughed.

"Oh I look forward to that day. But for now, we feast. There's a battle coming up, Malyutka. There is not denying it!" He drained his blood packet and reached for another. For the first time, he actually made me smile. Perhaps he was getting soft, but that could only seem like a good thing to me. Maybe I could start to get along with him so long as he kept this attitude. I drained my own blood packet and joined him in a feast that lasted well into the night.

**Kitten: -hides behind Alucard- I know! I'm horrible for leaving you guys hanging! I promise I didn't do it on purpose and won't do it again!**

**Nikita: Yeah, she definitely won't. This time instead of trying to write things as she goes, she bought a journal to write everything down in. Now she can actually _plan_ her chapters before she writes them and will make sure each and every story get's an equal amount of care.**

**Kitten: Anyway, as I said at the beginning, I have a Facebook for the stories and my artwork. Check it out if you'd like (please do because I don't have a lot of friends right now and it's sad). Leave a review and I might update faster! You know I love you guys anyway!**


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